Preparing Talks

We have been working very hard on our talks. We gave a journal club (read the article and discuss it) with the group on Tuesday and it went well. The subject was documentation, specifically how abbreviations and shortening of words can be misunderstood or have 2 meanings, and how this leads to confusion or even errors. We had looked through several patient charts so we had an idea of where and how things could be improved as well as specific examples from their patient records. I thought that took some effort but compared to the hours we have put in on the Nursing Process talk, it was nothing.
This morning we go with the home care director to the countryside to see patients in their home setting. I am looking forward to this as I think it will give us a better picture of the real Cambodia. Siem Reap is the least poor province due to tourist dollars so is not reflective of the remainder of the country.
In the afternoon, we give a lecture for 3 hours which is to contain how to plan care for your patients using critical thinking skills, physical assessment and psychosocial assessment. Putting that together in a way that respects the culture as well as is reflective of their culture has been daunting. That is why I find myself up at 5 going through the slides again, changing words to make it more understandable and rearranging the order yet again. I will be very glad when this is over although we repeat this lecture next week. It then becomes part of their required curriculum and will be given by the nursing education team here after we have gone home. Yesterday they asked us to write test questions derived from the lecture as part of that package. We can do that after we see how this lecture goes and we modify it as I am sure we will learn many things as we attempt to do this.
It is winter here so it is a bit cool in the mornings (55 or 60) and the locals are complaining bitterly. This is the coldest winter they have had in years but I think it is great and days in the high 70”s seem perfect to me. It is very dusty and a fine red film coves everything and I am coughing quite a bit. To keep the dust down, they water the streets so then there is the mud. All in all it is quite pleasant although I don’t think I will get used to using toilet paper for everything from napkins to cleaning thermometers between patients!