Life in the hospital

I have been on the Africa Mercy for a month, and I’m learning how different cultures can be. The ship is quite western including many aspects of the hospital, but that doesn’t stop African culture from influencing life here in the hospital. 

I currently work on “D” Ward which focuses mainly on maxo-facial patients who have various tumors, goiters, cleft lip & palates along with other things relating to the head and neck. On the ward there are 15 patient beds which are military cots separated by only a few inches. For patients under 18 there is a mat underneath the bed where the caregivers sleep. It is great that African life focuses so much on community, because that is a lot of people by western standards to be sharing one open room and one bathroom! Personal space and privacy doesn’t exist quite like back home!

One of the things that I love here is how the patients care for one another. While one of our adult patients went to surgery, the other patients and caregivers took turns holding that mother’s baby! Even if they just met that day, they will frequently help one another out! At times we’ll even have other patients translating for another patient who only speaks a certain tribal language/dialect. There are three major tribal languages spoken here in Guinea: Sousou, Fula, and Malinke. Even though French is the official language of the country, it is everyone’s second language that they learn in school. So we definitely don’t meet HIPAA regulations back in the states with having 15 people sharing one room and translating for one another!

My favorite part about working a day shift is taking patients up to Deck 7 to go outside for some fresh air and sunshine since the hospital is located on Deck 3 where there are no windows. It is also great exercise having the patients walk up four flights of stairs! I enjoy spending an hour sitting with patients playing cards or chasing children up and down the deck while looking out over the water.

Although it may seem like different worlds at times, there is so much to learn from the African culture especially as they focus on community and care for one another so well.