The Nurses and Medics

The nurses and the medics here at Bagram had their week in the sun this past week with Nurse/Medic Appreciation Week. It was well deserved. We had a 5K run on Saturday morning which was a big success. The sun was shining and there was a nice turnout. We delayed the start of the work day so that everyone could run. Of course, the nurses and medics did most of the leg work (no pun intended) for the race. All the doctors did was place 3 people in the top 6 finishers! It was a well organized race which I am sure took a lot of time and effort. The next big event was an ice cream social. Again, it was organized by the nurses and medics. But, the doctors including myself got dressed up in hats and beard nets (just like the locals in our cafeterias) and we served out the ice cream. I must say that it takes a fair amount of strength to scoop out rock hard ice cream. My forearms were burning in 10 minutes and I was done! They had a slide show of pictures from our deployment which lasted like 20 minutes. It was nice to see everyone together for some good clean fun. Lastly, we had a pancake breakfast. Fresh pancakes really hit the spot. I had a stack of four of them. As you might expect, this event too was organized by the nurses and medics. Obviously, the docs are a bunch of moochers and slackers!

Without a doubt, our nurses and medics do some extraordinary work. They are the one "in the trenches". Every single person in our hospital has an important job. The medic who sees that a wound is bleeding through the bandages 6 hours after surgery may actually save a limb. The nurse who notices the slow decline of a patient's eating may prompt tube feeds which can help heal wounds faster. This saves time, money, and effort. The lab tech who prioritizes the tests that are ordered then calls immediately when an abnormality is noted may in fact help initiate a life sustaining intervention. So, it all matters and we are only successful if everyone does their job to the best of their ability.

Some of the medics and nurses go above and beyond the call of duty. The other day I was out running when I noticed that one of our medics had taken one of our sickest patients outside for some fresh air (that's relative here in Afghanistan) and a little sunshine. This took quite a bit of effort to get the patient ready to leave his room with his multiple intravenous lines and tubes in various body cavities. But, doing this was probably the most therapeutic intervention this patient had in a while. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be stuck in an intensive care bed for weeks to months. Another example of extraordinary care occurred several months ago. One of our nurses took it upon herself to give a patient a hair cut right in the middle of the ward. He was a young Afghan National Army soldier with a severely injured leg. She took out the clippers and buzzed that hair off his head giving him a pretty good looking crew cut. The patient was beaming for the rest of the day. Next thing we knew this same patient was playing with a whoopee cushion and making all the other Afghans laugh. It was hilarious. A simple haircut seems small, but in reality it made a major difference for that patient.

I could go on and on with similar examples of the impact our nurses and medics have each day. But, maybe I should simply thank them more often. Maybe I could be a little less cranky at 0300 when they call with a question. Maybe I could give better explanations when we are at the bedside examinating a patient. Clearly, the nurses and medics deserve all that and more.