The Nurse Practitioner students will help treat patients in a Partners In Health Clinic. Follow along with their experiences in a running blog below.

The University of Rhode Island College of Nursing is continuing its global outreach over the next two weeks as four students and two faculty members are traveling to Liberia to help treat patients at a Partners in Health clinic.

Elaine Parker-Williams, a faculty member in nursing at URI who is from Liberia, is leading the nurse practitioner students who will work with patients at J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital in Maryland County, Liberia, especially those suffering from diabetes and hypertension, among the leading causes of death in West Africa.

“The students will be able to assess patients, diagnose and recommend treatment,” Parker-Williams has said. “This is a global initiative for the University, so we can see what is happening in health care in developing nations. We’re exposing the students to these areas of need, which will hopefully gear them toward careers in global health.”

The URI students — Bethany MacLeod, Kristen Rameika, Caryn Amedee and Christina Lewis — are joining Parker-Williams and faculty member Terri Maine in West Africa. The group will relay their experiences over the next two weeks, which will be detailed in a continuing stream below. Check back periodically to follow the students as they represent URI abroad.

March 31

Here we sit in the plane to JFK, awaiting takeoff. We are all saddened and excited — saddened because we formed so many lifelong friendships and want to make a larger impact on such a fractured health system. Our hope is that some of our suggestions will be put into practice. The faculty from Tubman University expressed the desire to do so. The excitement to go home to our loved ones, sleep in our own beds and eat food we are accustomed to is felt deep in our souls. Thank you all who have followed our journey. God bless! -Kristen Rameika

March 30

We woke up early to pack and went to The Front Porch for our last meal in Harper. It was on to the airport to take a charter flight on a 12-passenger Cessna plane at 10,000 feet. The faculty from Tubman came to the airport to give hugs and have prayers together before boarding. The suitcases with textbooks for the university, and clothing and toys for the community were distributed. On the 90-minute flight up to Monrovia, we witnessed something shocking and disturbing. A man defecated into an emeis bag. Needless to say we couldn’t wait for landing. We arrived in Monrovia and we’re greeted by a Partners In Health driver, Albert, and Elaine’s sister and her husband. They were gracious enough to show us around Monrovia and we were able to visit the National Museum of Liberia. -Kristen Rameika

March 29

Our morning on day 12 started out with a breakfast of fish and hard boiled eggs with boiled root vegetables. We spent half the day at JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital. Sadly, it was our last clinical day there. We have seen so many things and have learned so much about healthcare in Liberia. For what we have observed, their healthcare system is far less than American standards. Our hope is that the knowledge we have shared will be put into action and maybe one day we won’t be able to say that. Safe, effective high quality healthcare is a human right.

After lunch, we were all invited to the international women’s celebration, during which they honored 10 women from their community as an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things. Christina actually sang at the ceremony! They also honored the six of us for all the work we have been doing and trying to promote a positive change, which was an amazing experience. By night, we celebrated at our local watering hole — the front porch. Everyone who has touch our lives, and lives that we have touched came. We ate, we danced and said some final good byes. – Kristen Rameika

March 27

Day 10 was one the best days yet! Our morning started rounding with the nursing students of Tubman University. We were then assigned to our units. Terri, Christina and I were in the Emergency Department. Caryn was in the pediatric ward. And Bethany was in the med/surgery unit. We all worked side-by-side with the nurses and nursing students in assessments, and teaching them. We taught them all the hows and whys of the assessments and what to anticipate. We did a lot of hands-on diagnosing and treatments, trying to guide the staff nurses to understanding why things are done this way. We did a lot of teaching on the importance of frequent assessments and test results. In the afternoon, we sat in on a Tubman class on community nursing for RN to BSN students. – Kristen Rameika

In the photos below, URI Nursing student Christina Lewis (center) does rounds with nurses at JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital. Caryn Amedee and Elaine Parker-Williams administer measles shots to children in Liberia. The children’s faces have been obscured.

March 26, 2:46 p.m.

This morning we got up extra early to round with the Tubman University nursing students. Elaine taught the patients waiting to be assessed about the importance of vaccinating  children against measels. Christina and I were each paired with a physician’s assistant to assess patients that came in with a variety of complaints. Terri and Caryn were placed on the pediatric ward. Bethany started off her morning in a new mother education class, followed by working in the emergency department and the OB ward. After lunch, we met with the president of Tubman University. He was very excited for this new partnership. Then Christina lectured to RN to BS students about the Nurse Practitioner role in the healthcare setting.

In the photos below, URI Nursing student Christina Lewis delivers a lecture to undergraduate nursing students at Tubman University. Bethany MacLeod assesses a pregant woman with the fetoscope. The group of URI students and faculty members meet with Tubman University President Elliot Wreh-Wilson. Kristen Rameika delivers a lecture to nursing students at Tubman University.

March 25

We had the day off today and we went to the beach in the town of Fish Town with other nursing students and faculty members to celebrate this new amazing relationship we have created. Fish Town is right on the coast and boarder of the Ivory Coast. It was absolutely breath-taking. – Kristen Rameika

March 24

Today, we went to a small village called New Soloken and taught the entire village about HIV/AIDs and the prevention of the disease. Following that, we went to the market to see how people make a living. – Kristen Rameika

In the photos below, the URI College of Nursing students and faculty members lead a discussion on HIV/AIDS in the village of New Soloken. Seated left to right in the first picture are Terri Maine, Bethany MacLeod, Dr. Elaine Parker-Williams, Christina Lewis, Caryn Amedee, Kristen Rameika. IN the center photo, Kristen Rameika meets some locals in the market in New Soloken.

March 22, 7:23 p.m.

URI Nursing faculty member Elaine Parker-Williams and student Caryn Amedee met with the mayor of Pleebo, Maryland County, Liberia, today to kick off a measles vaccination campaign and help volunteers set up a vaccination booth in town. Meanwhile, students Bethany MacLeod and Kristen Rameika delivered lectures to undergraduate nursing students at William V.S. Tubman University. Below, left, Amedee and Parker-Williams meet with the mayor of Pleebo. Below, right, MacLeod delivers her lecture.

 

March 22, 2:21 p.m.

Today, we headed out to zone 2 in Pleebo, Maryland County, Liberia, to administer measles vaccines to children 6 months to 59 months. Afterward, we had some fun swimming at Palmas Beach – Bethany MacLeod

March 21, 12:35 a.m.

Today we got up early and had breakfast delivered to our guest house — spaghetti and hotdogs! We toured J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital, where we will be treating and assessing patients. Two of us were in the operating room and watched a c-section; two more of us were in the ER, and two of us were in the pediatric wing. We trucked six pleurovacs — chest tube drainage systems — with us from the states to Liberia to assist in the treatment of a 7-year-old boy suffering from pleural effusions due to malaria. When we got to the hospital today, we saw how our efforts truly helped. – Kristen Rameika

In the photos below, URI College of Nursing student Caryn Amedee (left) teaches a class to a group of undergraduate nursing students at William V.S. Tubman University. Nursing faculty member Elaine Parker-Williams (right) delivered a lecture on ethics to the students.

March 20, 1:53 p.m.

We toured William v.s. Tubman University today. This was a striking view of the destruction of the civil war in Liberia. The technology building was destroyed in the war, as were many buildings in Maryland County.

I spent some time working in the emergency room today. I hope we are able to help them write some protocols that would help streamline and reduce variations in practice. I was able to help educate one of the nurses on the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. He was a skilled nurse who was eager to learn and improve his practice and that of his colleagues. I wish I could remember his name; I’ve met so many people over the last 2 days. – Caryn Amedee

March 19, 10:41 p.m.

So day 2 we finally got to Harper! Our day started off with a quick 1.5 hour rest at the PIH house in Monrovia then off to the Springs airport, where we boarded a 15-passenger plane. I convinced the pilot to let me be his co-pilot en route to Harper, where J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital is located. After a 90-minute flight, we landed in Harper, and Partners In Health met us with open arms. We dropped off our bags and headed to the PIH office for general and nursing orientation. After orientation, we went back to the guest houses and finally got to relax. Driving to the PIH office, we got to look outside the window and see how the locals live and what their houses at like. Really makes you appreciate what we have at home. – Kristen Rameika

March 19, 4:30 p.m.

The group met up with Professor Philip Dekontee Davis and their nurse mentors at JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital, as they prepare to begin working with patients. In the photo below, Professor Davis is on the far right.

March 19, 8:18 a.m.

The URI Nursing travelers arrived in Liberia just after 7 a.m. (eastern time) Monday after a bit of sight-seeing in Morocco on Sunday. After arriving at Monrovia airport, they had a slight waiting period for their final flight to their final destination. They waited at the Partners in Health (PIH) Guesthouse before traveling on to their final destination in Harper/Maryland County, where they will help treat patients at J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital

March 18, 12:40 p.m.

We just arrived in Morocco! Took a nice nap at the hotel for a few hours and got to explore! We are heading back to the airport later to or get our flight to Liberia! – Kristen Rameika

March 17

The URI students and two faculty members left for Liberia today to work with Partners in Health. They will be donating their time to deliver health care to Liberian citizens and will be teaching nursing students at Tubman University. This was a coordinated effort among the faculty, international student office and legal team at URI. Significant credit for making this rare opportunity happen is Suzy Winchester, research associate with the College of Nursing.