Introduction to BCNC and Hospital Orientation

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Last night I was able to sleep the whole night through! I woke up at 6:45am still feeling tired, but at least I got some sleep. My body is slowly adjusting to the time change. The weather is really nice in the morning and evenings, but the afternoons are very bright and hot. Breakfast this morning was a rice and chicken soup, fried dough with a sweet glaze, and a banana. The banana’s and clementines here taste different than what I’m used to. Its probably because the fruit is fresh and they don't use pesticides.The fried dough is called “bunny bunny" and tastes like funnel cake. After breakfast we joined the Thai nursing students for morning ceremony, which felt like a mix between Messiah’s chapel and summer camp morning meetings. Everyone stood in lines and repeated different phrases based upon what direction they turned. One direction was saluting their Thai flag, another was a time of prayer, another saluted their late king’s mother, and then they all saluted their teachers. The late kings mother is the staple for Thai nursing and was a midwife. The college is named in honor of her. All of the students were dressed in uniforms, which reminded me of girl scouts and flight attendants. They all looked really cute! After the morning ceremony we had a formal introduction to BCNC. Our buddies presented us with picture frames with our Thai flower names on it. Everybody else’s buddies placed their hands in the wai position when given their gift. My buddies on the other hand gave me hugs! I guess I have the touchiest buddies out of the group. Two of the buddies performed a traditional Thai dance to welcome us. It is very different from American dancing, but then again everything is different from American dancing. There were a lot of hand gestures, which i think would be hard to learn. After lunch we went to the hospital for orientation. The hospital was bigger than i expected. Its very spread out and incorporated indoor and outdoor “living” space. It is easy to see the differences between American and Thailand hospitals, so I tried my best to find some similarities. The biggest similarity I found was the values and mission statements of both countries revolve around quality of patient care. I definitely felt like I was in a blast from the past hospital, with all of the uniforms, metal, and older materials. It’s important to remember that the Thais are doing the best they can with what they have. My mind was blown that the nurse pt. ratio on average is 8:1. In the USA nurses complain about having 5 or 6 patients at a time. I also found it interesting that the wards were one open room. I guess there are pros and cons to this system. It promotes community, which is very big in Thailand, and allows the nurses to see their cluster of patients at all times. I’m bummed that I wasn’t able to tour the labor unit, so i’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight some of us went on a walk/run at a local park. We walked a total of 5 miles because it was a mile walk to get to the park trail. After dinner we had our class meeting and discussed our time in Thailand so far. It was interesting to see what everyone had been experiencing and thinking so far. One of the big topics was how Thais are so loving and have servant hearts due to their religion. This convicted many of us because as Christians we are supposed to constantly be an example of God’s love to others. I think it would be really helpful to talk more about this subject, but in the context of now we’re convicted, what do we do with it? How do we love others while we are here and how do we bring this culture of love and community back to the USA. Thats all for tonight, because i’m pretty tired and have a big day tomorrow! First day on the L&D floor. - Remember to look for Gods presence in all situations and environments. Expect big things!

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