A day in the life of Sarah Heikoop :)

It's almost midnight and I probably should go to bed. But instead I sign onto my blog. I usually find it the easiest to write down my thoughts at this time of the day, but I'm not sure about tonight- my brain is almost shutting down. It's been another long day... Here's a little of what a day in my life here can look like:

This morning I had prenatals, where I saw around thirteen patients. We typically see between 40-100 women on a prenatal morning with 5-6 midwives on the shift. I enjoy prenatals, but they can be mentally draining due to the high volume of patients that come through. You want to be quick but thorough. If you make a mistake or miss something on the evaluation or chart, it could be serious... you are dealing with a life- two for that matter! Also being sensitive to the needs and cares of each woman is so important, and really the main reason we are here. Prenatals is also a time where you see again and again how financially deprived most of the women. This morning I had a woman who didn't get her 60 cent lab because she couldn't afford it. I could see she was telling me the truth...her reality.
After prenatals I had just enough time to come home to have lunch and check my e-mails before running back to the clinic to write a review test. We then usually go over it to discuss each answer, which usually leads to interesting debates! :)
After the test I had ten minutes to run home to grab my water bottle and notebook before heading to class.
We then have a 2 1/2 hour Primary Health Teaching class, taught by Cathy- a missionary PA from the States who has an amazing gift for teaching. She has spent many years on the mission field, the last few being in Sudan. She volunteered to put a class together to teach us about general primary health that can be used out on the mission field. We have two classes a week, and then starting this Saturday, we will be going out into different areas of the city to put into practise what we've learned. So far the classes have been incredible!!
After supper I managed to write another book report: Twenty-four down, one more to go! YEA! :)
And then there is of course the fast approaching exams to look forward to! :) It's definitely a challenge to focus on studying with so many exciting things going on, as well as attempting to wrap things up here... MY OH MY!!

Well, I think I'll call it a day! :)

God be with you all...
"Till next time!"
SH