May
23rd, 2007
AFRICAN
HEALTH EXPERIENCE – 2007
I
arrived in Cape Town at 8:10pm (11:10am Pacific time) on
May 22nd, Tuesday, with the rest of the Delegates on Nursing.
Once we arrived at Cape Town Lodge (our hotel) we were ushered
in to the dining area for a small dinner and then debriefed
on the upcoming events for the following day. Later, all
of the delegates retired to their respective rooms to rest
before our 6:00am wakeup call for breakfast. By 8:30am,
orientation began.
8:30
am
Our Faculty Advisors, Lillian Barron and Margaret Bassett,
discussed the educational goals, learning objectives and
educational outcomes of the International Scholar Laureate
Program (ISLP). The success of the delegates experiencing
a life changing outlook on life and humanity as a whole
is primal.
Some
of the educational goals of ISLP are to educate scholars
to make an intelligent decision about future careers in
nursing, examine various career paths in the field, and
to further develop critical leadership skills such as communication,
decision making and goal setting.
The
learning objectives are to explore health issues afflicting
the people of South Africa (i.e. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
malnutrition in children, and other difficulties), to understand
the role of private and public health care, and to observe
facilities where social, financial, and emotional responsibilities
of nursing are extended.
As
far as the educational outcomes, ISLP would like the scholars
to receive from the program an appreciation for the nursing
field, assess and appreciate the challenges of diverse environments
and cultures, explore the importance of teamwork as demonstrated
by the nurses in the South African Healthcare System, and
use the existing knowledge given to interpret information
and create our own hypotheses.
12:00pm
By noon, we were visited by Dr. Mark Blecher, whom came
to discuss the structure of the South African Healthcare
System and the disease burden they are facing. He stated
that the public sector of health service is free to all
citizens; however this sector is mainly comprised of the
poor who can not afford adequate healthcare. The private
sector is funded mainly by private health insurance. This
sector mainly includes the privileged and the wealthy.
During
the discussion of the disease burden, Dr. Blecher pointed
out some of the health issues facing South Africa: diseases
of poverty & under-development (gastro-pneumonia) used
a graph to demonstrate, increase in lifestyle diseases (heart
disease, diabetes), HIV/AIDS (all time high and the most
difficult to control), and health indicators are below par
for this middle income country (lifespan sharply decreases
between 40-50 years of age).
However,
the most startling statistic mentioned by Dr. Blecher is
the increase in disease mortality rates between 1997 to
2004 rose 367% amongst women. There are various factors,
but the main cause is AIDS.
Another
problem facing South Africa is tuberculosis. There are a
high number of reported cases which is often a common indicator
for HIV/AIDS.
2:20pm
Later in the afternoon I traveled with other Delegates on
Nursing to a local clinic called Tafelsig located in Western
Cape, which is one of nine provinces in South Africa. There
we were greeted by Melissa the Faculty Manager.
All
of the services and medications of Tafelsig Clinic are free
and open to the public. They are open Monday through Friday;
closed on the weekends and holidays. The usual staff includes
two doctors in the morning and two doctors in the evening,
nine nurses, a pharmacy, and one counselor.
On
a typical day the clinic will see 350-400 patients. The
cases vary from child healthcare, prenatal, HIV/AIDS treatment
and counseling, sexual disease treatment, other chronic
diseases, drug abuse (methamphetamine use is on the rise
with children as young as 8 years old), etc.
Tafelsig
Clinic is considered to be a public sector health service.
As I mentioned earlier, this type of health care is mainly
acquired by impoverished people of South Africa who can
not afford private healthcare. Clinics, such as Tafelsig
in the Western Cape Province are their only option.
On
Thursday, May 24th, we will discuss the future of nursing
and the training and preparation needed to serve the community.
Until then…. Imagine a world without disease or sickness.
Now, be the change…..
Email: TonyaakaTaTa@yahoo.com
Website: www.OCBlackChamber.com
Webpage:
http://www.myspace.com/southafricascholar
Personal Blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/southafricascholar
“Only
the educated are free” - Epictetus
