It's the little things that matter most

In August and December 2011, undergraduate and graduate College of Nursing students traveled to Uganda with the Palmetto Medical Initiative (PMI) to provide healthcare to those in need. Those students included Accelerated BSN students Lisa Carraher, Sarah Didow, Kristen Elmore, Margaret (Sosnowski) Lawrence, Lindsey Palmer, Anne Powell, Jenelle Quenneville, Thomas Rudisill, Margaret Skeele, and Jessee Wagner. Graduate students included DNP students Ashleigh Benda, Elizabeth Devereaux, Hannah French, J’Vonne Hunter, and MSN student Reames Rinehart. Ashleigh Benda shares her experience below:

I wanted to experience how medicine in other countries compares to the U.S. I am now extremely appreciative of the abundance of medical gloves and not having the need to sleep in a mosquito net! I have realized that the little things do matter the most. Taking time to talk to your patient, fun band-aids for kids, and a pat on the back can change the entire course and outcome of patient care. It is an experience that everyone should have and I want to go frequently to keep my basic nursing skills sharp and maintain my passion for the sick.

On this trip, one experience that stands out for me is an older lady, probably 65+, who presented with what she claimed to be a rash on her right arm. After examination, she had third-degree burns or a very severe case of cellulitis. Her skin was peeling, there were blisters between her fingers and her radial pulse was non-palpable. In the U.S., she would have been placed on a stretcher and wheeled into the OR immediately. The most help we could provide for her was clean water irrigation, elevation, and zinc cream. It was very difficult to inform her she was probably going to lose her arm. Despite the terrible news, she was incredibly grateful for the clean water and pain injection we were able to give her.

- Ashleigh M. Benda, DNP Student