PEDS NC EXPERIENCE 2019

June 8, 2019          During our time in Cherokee, North Carolina we have experienced many people who were very generous during our time here.  One specific time that I can remember these individuals being so generous was when we had our last clinical experience.  The Director of Nursing, Victoria, came in to talk to us and told us to never let someone talk down to us.  She also gave us her business card with her name, email address, and phone number so we were able to get a hold of her whenever we needed to.  Victoria told us that we were always welcomed back to the hospital whenever we were back to visit Cherokee, North Carolina and if we would like to come back to work at the Cherokee Indian Hospital we were welcomed.  Before we had left, Victoria had also gave us all a lanyard made from Cherokee Indian beading.  I was in love with it and I will forever cherish this lanyard.  During our time here this past week, we ...

June 7, 2019             After having three days in the Cherokee Health Care System, the most critical issue that this culture encounters are that these individuals live in poverty and have a higher incidence rate of drug and alcohol addictions.  I have come across individuals today that were reaching out to to get help, after they have been in multiple overdoses, domestic violence cases, and losing their families related to these cases that have happened in the past.  They believe that there is hope and getting clean of drugs and alcohol.  The Cherokee individuals that have gone through these domestic violence cases have been victims of domestically violated themselves when they were younger or seeing their family members violated.  Which has caused them to 'numb' their pain with the opioids, drugs, and alcohol to get away from the pain.  They then find themselves addicted to the drugs/alcohol and continue using them daily...

June 6, 2019           Today, we observed the Mission Children's Hospital in Asheville, which offers cares to eighteen different counties in North Carolina.  As myself and the students with me observed this Children's Hospital, we observed that they are a 130 bed facility that have general pediatrics, pediatric intensive care unit, and a neonatal intensive care unit.  When the nurses are in need of help explaining procedures, they are able to call Child Life to help explain the procedures to the children.  This is somewhat similar to our Children's Hospital back at home in Illinois, but I did notice one thing a little different when observing.  When in the neonatal intensive care unit, when rounding with the parents and nurses about the baby they are caring for, the physicians, respiratory therapist, and nutritionist are at a specific table within the neonatal intensive care unit they sit at to go over all the laboratory results, x-ray...

June 5, 2019            Today, we were given the chance to go to the SnowBird Residential Treatment Recovery Center and the Baptist Cherokee Church.  While observing the childbearing practices within this culture at the Baptist Cherokee Church, I had noticed that there are many foster families and elders that have taken in children of younger ages due to drug and alcohol problems when the mother is pregnant.  There is drug and alcohol problem within this reservation and before the mothers become pregnant, they may become addicted to drugs.  Once getting pregnant, they are addicted and are not able to stop using the drugs, which causes the babies to become addicted to the drugs as well.  We had interacted with an infant who had been born addicted to drugs because the mother had been involved in the usage of drugs since a teenager.  This infant had been involved in foster homes many times in her life, but is now in a good fos...

June 4, 2019        Today, we had a clinical observation experience at the Cherokee Indian Hospital.  During our clinical experience, we had learned that the health care system of the Cherokee Indian Hospital is ran by their people.  I found this very interesting because it shows that the Native Americans really care about their people and their opinions of how they would like to be cared for.  We went to three different areas within the Cherokee Indian Hospital, the emergency room, primary care, and inpatient care.  In the emergency room, myself, Mackenzie, and Alex noticed that there was a team leader, who worked the same as a charge nurse, two providers, a nurse for each section, and two CNA's.  Before leaving the emergency room, we were able to see a patient get triaged.  We then proceeded to primary care, which I found very interesting.   I found that patients were canceling their appointments because of the PerC...

June 3, 2019                   Today, we had our orientation at the Cherokee Indian Hospital and I loved it.  My first impression that I found of the Cherokee individuals are that they love to teach other individuals about their culture and history.  It is very interesting to hear these individuals and their stories, especially because they love to tell them to individuals, like us.  Something that I found interesting about the Cherokee culture was that these individuals had a seven tiered bowl that the each tribe smoke out of their certain tribes tier.  If the wrong tribe were to smoke out of the wrong tier, they would get in trouble for it.  Their tobacco that they smoked was also very toxic and if it would get into their lungs, it would kill them instantly.  I found that these individuals value their families and I feel that I value my family just like them.  I would be lost without them....

June 2, 2019                 Before visiting the Museum of Appalachia, I really didn't know much about about the individuals of this territory.  After going through the museum, I found it to be very interesting and educational.  There were several things that stood out to me while going through the museum, especially the areas dedicated to healthcare.  It was very interesting to see how these individuals used their medical supplies and how some of the medical supplies seemed to be very unsanitary.  It made me wonder how many individuals developed an infection after having a procedure done.  As I think of how the Appalachian culture is unique, I think of how these individuals live in a simple environment and are able to live completely off the land.  I discovered that Appalachian individuals look at their families and their people as a whole rather than just one.  A highlight that a I took aw...

JUNE 1, 2019              Today, we started our journey to North Carolina.  As we started our journey, I became excited knowing that we are going to have some awesome experiences together as a group.  Some things that I am most excited about in the days to come are able to learn more about children and the Cherokee culture.  Some of the apprehensions that I have would be that the Cherokee individuals do not like us, getting attacked by a bear or snake, and the group getting mad at each other.  As I was preparing for this course, I explored that the children of Cherokee live in poverty and in isolation.  Cherokee individuals take pride in what they have, but still have limited resources, such as medical care.  With knowing this, we have gathered donations for the children, such as clothes and school supplies.  My thoughts about the Native American people are that they are just like us individuals.  These ...