You give me love...crazy love...

 At the beginning of my two weeks in Guyana, I told the students that I always learn as much from them as they (hopefully) do from me.  I have always believed education is a continual learning process for both the student and the instructor (I actually prefer facilitator or guide over teacher for this reason).  So naturally, at the end of the two weeks, the students wanted to know what I've learned.  Here is my response, in no particular order of importance:

I've learned:

* Trust in the basics- no amount of technology can substitue for a good physical assessment, intuition and common sense

* The simplest changes really do make a difference- I know it's a cliche, but handwashing and a good clean environment can drastically improve outcomes (and on that note, thank you to all of our housekeeping staff who work their butts off everyday- you are as vital to our healthcare team as any nurse or physician)

* You CAN calm an infant without a pacifier.  

* A mother's love is universal- no one knows their infant or child better than their mother- our job as nurses is to embrace this and help nurture this already amazingly tight bond, no matter what age, economic status, or ethnicity 

* Politics are everywhere- they don't just exist in your place of employment.  The challenge is to learn to ballance all the powers that play into creating a better outcome, because in the end, good really does trump evil (or at least I still have hope!), and most people really want the best outcomes for their patients and hospitals

*It all comes down to communication- clear, open, honest communication.  Whether this is between staff and families, members of the healthcare team, or your own personal relationships.  The communication between physicians and nurses in the NNU has grown by leaps and bounds from the first time I stepped foot in the unit, and while it's not always perfect, they are making the effort to make it less rigid/structured and more professional and open than before.  While the same cannot be said between members of the whole perinatal staff/maternity block, change is always best started at home, and I am so proud of how far the NNU staff has come in a short amount of time. 

* Never give up on your students (or staff)- just when you think they are not listening to a word you say, when you think they will never "get it", you find amazing changes being made one person at a time (after an entire environmental lecture of which I didn't think anyone was listening, the next day a couple students came in with signs they made to post all over the unit about handwashing, using alcohol before accessing multi use vials, changing IV tubing every day, etc).  

Most importantly, every time I travel to deliver education and/or nursing care outside of my permanent place of employment, my passion for my profession is renewed.  Maybe it's the thrill of testing myself and my skills in a resource poor environment, maybe it's the rush of traveling and seeing something new or having your eyes opened to a different way of thinking, or maybe it's just realizing that the heart of nursing exsists beyond political, economic, religious, racial, and ethnic lines.  We are all striving to provide a little bit of comfort in what is normally a challenging and sometimes painful situation, and we give of ourselves not for the money (although it does help), but because we love the human condition in all forms and couldn't imagine ourselves doing anything else with our lives.  While we hope to be healers of the body, if at the end of the day we are only healers of the spirit, then it's all worth it.  

So thank you to all the people of Guyana, and for my travel mates and project dawn housemates, for helping me grow in many ways over these last 2 weeks.  My body may be back in Ohio, but a little piece of my heart will always remain in Guyana...