This past week, we visited four different nursing homes in San Jose, Costa Rica. That's four opportunities I great fully had to interact with some of the nicest patients I've ever encountered. Despite an obvious and sometimes frustrating language barrier, I found communication to be manageable. Sra. Laura and a couple of chance interpreters were able to guid my peers and me through the basic questions to extract health information from our patients. Our accents and pronunciations were terrible, but nevertheless, they laughed and generally understood what we asked.
Looking back again, I really notice a difference between Costa Rica and the States. In the US, some elderly become more agitated and less personable as they age. But in Costa Rica--the paradise of the America's--the elderly just get happier! Maybe it was the facility they stayed in, or the food, but one thing is for sure, the patients we saw were happy. They may not have been 100% together mentally, but they seemed to not have a care in the world. With that in mind, my perspective as a nurse has been totally reinforced. I have always known I want to do community care for the under served. That's my calling card, the reason I'm on this earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment