Virgin Islands Part 2

My time in the Virgin Islands is flying by, with less than four weeks left I feel there is so much more I want to do and learn!  I then think how much I have done since I have been here.  I have experienced a new culture in a way that I never thought possible.  I understand more about the culture and the people who live on the islands.   Today I went to the only mall on St. Thomas.  The mall had about ten stores, two restaurants in the food court and was attached to a Kmart.  I went looking for a Halloween costume and was lucky enough to find one at Kmart. 

                When I asked my friends who live on the island if they celebrate Halloween, majority of them say no.  One girl said she usually watches the ABC Halloween special on TV with her family to celebrate Halloween.  When I told her that I used to trick or treat she was shocked.  “I didn’t know people actually did that,” she said.  Besides Halloween I have also learned other things about the culture here.  I learned that newspapers are not delivered to homes every day.  If someone wants a newspaper they have to buy it either at a store or someone on the street.  There is also not a garbage pick-up every week.  When someone wants to get rid of their trash they have to take it to a dumpster that are located around the island and the garbage trucks will pick the trash from there.   These are a few culture facts that I have learned while being on the island.

                One of the classes that I am enrolled in at the University is snorkeling.  We have class every Monday for two hours.  This was the first and so far the only class that I have ever had to wear a bathing suit to class.  The first test I had for the class was a swim test.  At class this past Monday, we took a boat trip to a small key.  While snorkeling we saw a puffer fish and a lot of jelly fish!  Everywhere I looked there would be more jelly fish.  My instructor then picked up a jelly fish and I was able to touch it.  I learned that only the jelly fish’s tentacles will sting.  I was still very afraid of the jelly fish even though I touched one. 

                My clinicals are going well.  I have learned many new things from my patients and how they view health care, especially with the election going on.  On St. John there is no hospital only a clinic that works as an urgent care, pharmacy, and many families primary care resource.  After having clinical in Cleveland and being exposed to so many different hospitals, it is weird to think that there is no hospital on St. John.  If someone needs to go to the hospital they have to take a ferry to St. Thomas.

                I have learned and experienced so many new things.  I am excited for the last four weeks of my adventure in the Virgin Islands!   

Smoking Cessation in Hong Kong

Rarely do I ever get a chance to put on a suit and tie, but I had an opportunity last week when our group was invited to the 30th anniversary of tobacco control in Hong Kong. I was able to travel to Hong Kong with Jessica, Nita, and Rachel to attend nursing classes at Hong Kong University as well as partake in a research project on smoking cessation.
We walked into the convention center without any idea of what we were getting ourselves into. When we walked into the cocktail reception, we knew we were in for a treat. Besides being able to help ourselves to the many delicacies of Hong Kong food, we had the rare opportunity to see many prominent individuals including the Director General of the World Health Organization as well as the Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health.
The event gave us a preview of how far a country can come when a group of individuals come together to solve a public health concern. Tobacco control has helped decrease the smoking prevalence from 23.3% in 1982 to a mere 11.1% in 2012 making Hong Kong's smoking prevalence "one of the lowest in the Asia Pacific Region and in the world." It was definitely an inspirational event that served as a kick-off point for our own research on smoking cessation here in Hong Kong.

The full press release can be found at: http://cosh.org.hk/en/content/web.do?page=news20121009

Dr. Margaret Chan - Director-General of WHO

Wuhan, China

Erika and I are in Wuhan, China for our capstone project. We live on the medical campus of Wuhan University, which is only a fifteen-minute walk from the main campus located across the east lake. The students have been very helpful showing us around and we travel with them to our clinical site. It takes us one hour and two crowded bus rides to reach the Community Health Center from Wuhan University. The buses briefly stop to allow passengers on and off and we are often forced to chase after buses and compete with other eager travelers. Passengers freely smoke on the buses even though there are signs stating that smoking is prohibited. The students help us to buy breakfast from street carts that line a long alleyway leading to the Community Health Center.

When we arrive at the Community Health Center we change into our student nurse uniforms, provided by the HOPE school of nursing. The uniforms resemble traditional clothes worn by nurses during World War II. They consist of a long white button down dress, matching pants, and a hat. By 8:30AM we are on the traditional Chinese medicine ward of the Community Health Center. This area of the clinic offers acupuncture, cupping, massage, and herbal treatments. The students spend a lot of time practicing their skills on each other.  They often leave the clinic with extra bumps and bruises they get from practicing the different techniques: big dark circles from cupping, tiny pink dots from acupuncture. Erika and I have been reluctant to let the students practice on us, until they improve their skills. Even so, the students are more than willing to let Erika and me cup their backs and experiment with different treatments. Before we leave Wuhan, the students offered to take us to a medical supplies store near campus so that we can buy some of the equipment and practice what we have learned back in America.

When Erika and I are not at the Community Health Center we spend our time exploring Wuhan. During the Chinese national holiday we went hiking at Lu Shan, a famous mountain about five hours from campus. For three days we toured the mountain with a group of students from Wuhan University.  We visited temples, hiked up different sides of the mountain, and watched movies that featured Jet Li. It took us about three hours to climb stairs, cross rope bridges, and jump across rocks until we reached the highest point of Le Shan. The mountain was beautiful and we are trying to plan a trip to another site close to campus.

Michael R. White and CMSD

This is my fourth year working in the Cleveland Publics Schools and every year I find that there are new needs for the students. There are two separate parts of the capstone. The first is working with the demonstration school  (Michael R. White) which is a K thru 8 school located a few minutes north of CWRU. My group is focusing on healthy food choices with the students as well as the community. To help with the students healthy choices we are going to hang up posters that promote healthy eating. To educate the community we are planning on having a healthy cooking demonstration. This demonstration will show easy healthy meals that parents will be likely to make. Hopefully these interventions will help the community make healthier food choices.

The second part of my capstone has been working with a CMSD nurse. We have been going to different CMSD schools and doing eye screenings for the children. The eye screenings have been for OneSight, which is a program that aims to provide free glasses to all CMSD students. While doing these screening I have realized how important these programs are. Many of the students had lost or broken their glasses and were unable to read the top row of an eye chart. This prevents them from reading the board and being able to learn. I am excited for the next two weeks when we will get to see the kids get their new glasses.

I am excited for the rest of the semester and the positive change I will be able to make in the Cleveland Public Schools.  

Healthy Cooking in CMSD

I feel extremely lucky to have combined my capstone project with one of my favorite pass times: cooking! This semester I've been working at the demonstration school (Michael R. White). One problem we've identified within the CMSD is growing obesity rates in children. Our group has decided to counteract this problem by equipping the community with the tools to eat healthy. On November 15th we will be hosting a free healthy cooking demo for the parents and faculty of Michael R. White. Along with this demo we will be handing out healthy cooking book books featuring recipes from community members. We're really excited to not only educate the community, but to empower them to take control and make healthy choices!

We understand it's not realistic to expect these busy families to prepare healthy gourmet meals every day. part of our project also features an "eat this not that" piece. We're trying to be realistic in our approach to education. So far we've found the community to be extremely welcoming to us! I've enjoyed spending time with the children, and hope that I can make some realistic changes in there eating habits. The problem is overwhelming, and can be stressful at times- but by taking each day at a time, I find I'm able to make a difference.

Demonstration school, CMSD

My semester so far in the Cleveland Public Schools has been quite a unique experience. We have had many different experiences within the schools, and met with many different people. Our main focus for the semester is working with 5th and 6th graders at Michael R. White STEM School on nutrition and healthy lifestyle changes. We are planning on taking each of these classes on two field trips to the Case Farm, Squire Valleevue Farm, in October and November. The idea of the field trips is to get the kids excited to learn about where their food comes from, healthy foods, eating foods from the ground, etc. We are working in conjunction with two farm employees, who have been helpful and enthusiastic. Since the seniors last year worked on the fifth grade field trips and cirriculum, we are focusing our efforts on the sixth grade curriculum and lesson plans. This has all been quite a bit of work, and we are all learning to improve our communication and group work skills. It has been especially interesting to be able to really immerse ourselves in the culture of the community as much as possible. We have done this by eating lunch with the students, meeting with community members, and attending and participating in the Student Parent Organization meeting. I am looking forward to the field trips, where we can see our work take shape, as well as see the students be excited about learning new things and having new experiences.

The other aspect of our project has been working along side a CMSD nurse. We have been helping her prepare for OneSight, a program that takes place for the next two weeks that aims to provide free glasses to all CMSD students, aged 8 and up, who are in need. This nurse, Chris, is responsible for prescreening the schools so they know who to send to the bus, and we have been assisting her with this large task. While in the schools, we have had many experiences. To name a few, we have worked with the full time nurses at some of CMSD's medically fragile schools, learned to check for lice, and interacted with the teachers and students of one medically fragile class. I have enjoyed seeing the broad range of what school nurses do, and have been continuously impressed with their work. Being in the Cleveland schools and working so closely with a CMSD nurse has given us insight into both the strengths and struggles of the school district. I have gained a better understanding of the difficulties of the system, and I aim to continue educating myself on this topic. I hope to continue working with Chris in the schools, and to keep learning more about the system and the students.

Michael R. White

This semester for capstone my group in the Demonstration School within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, otherwise known as Michael R. White STEM School.  Throughout the last few weeks our group has been working with the administration and faculty of both Michael R. White and the Case Western Reserve University Farm to plan field trips centered around improving the nutrition knowledge of the students.
Honestly, at the beginning, our project felt like it would be nearly impossible.  We needed to find funding, make appointments, plan lessons, and get approval from numerous administrative people--all in a short period of time.  Thankfully, with a great deal of teamwork from us along with all of our administrators and faculty members we were able to come up with a plan.  Our list of what to do sometimes seemed long and overwhelming on certain days, but it would eventually become shorter and shorter as the days passed.
We continued to work on our project and finally received word that funding would be available and our field trips to the Farm would be possible.  Now onto the fun part--planning the activities and lessons we would be teaching at the Farm.
We decided to do two 6th grade field trips that would concentrate on topics such as sugars, honey, healthy snack options, winter crops, and how to grow crops in different environments.  Each lesson includes an interactive PowerPoint presentation along with a fun and exciting activity related to the Case Western Reserve Farm.  We are also hoping for two 5th grade field trips that will concentrate on composting and nutrition.
Since I was placed at the Farm last year to help  the senior capstone students with their field trips, I am extremely excited to get the kids out to the farm and help educate them about the topics listed above.  From my experience the kids learn better when placed in this kind of new environment where they are able to interactively learn and have the opportunity to be hands on in their education process.
Our project is coming together very nicely.  Field trip dates are nearing and I honestly can't wait to have a great time with the children at the Farm.

Not only have we been working on this project, we have also be working across the district doing eye screenings with a nurse.  Along with the eye screenings we have also been able to shadow nurses at medically fragile schools.  A few of us had the opportunity to met a teacher at one of the schools who was extremely impressive.  He had 4 medically fragile students that needed a great deal of care.  This teacher acted as though he was their second father.  He had compassion I had never seen in a teacher within the school district in the past.  He is passionate about what he does and wants these children to become the best they can be.  I truly believe it was a great experience to see him work with the children.