Friday July 14

Another Day of Observations

Today I was able to witness the life in the Emergency Department and see just how their setup is in comparison to the Emergency room I work in back home. As with most things I've noticed here, they have a very detailed set up. Nurses are assigned to specific rooms, and each room is generally used for different ailments. There is trauma rooms, forensic rooms (for assault cases), orthopedic rooms, and so on. They even have a set Code Blue team where each person is given a role at the beginning of the day, so that in the event of an emergency the team already knows what to do and who's in charge of what. Back home it's more of a free for all when the event arises and one must be prepared to jump into any role.

Some of the most critical issues this culture faces on a daily basis would be diabetes, drugs, and compliance. Diabetes is a rising factor across the nation, as is drug usage, more and more strains of drugs are being produced causing more and more people to become addicted. "The rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians exceeds the rates of the United States and North Carolina's general population" (Bachar. Lefler. Reed. McCoy. Bailey. Bell. 2006.) When talking with the natives, they noted that their bodies, our bodies, are not meant to eat such foods, and this is a reason for the increase. I feel that these issues are related more to deficient knowledge of proper foods to eat and how to exercise appropriately. I do also think that the culture plays a huge role as well. Prior to the increase in fast food restaurants, more families ate at home, likely eating more traditional dishes with less sugar and carbohydrates.  As nurses, it is important to educate families on the importance of healthy lifestyles including foods and exercise. It would also be important for nurses to touch on drug usage as well, since that is on the rise it needs to be addressed.
The center of the healthcare system in Cherokee, in my opinion, is the enrolled members and the board of the hospital. Since the tribe bought their hospital, and it is no longer using governmental funds, they have a lot of say on what goes on in the health care realm. I think this is very different to what we are used to back home, as the government plays a large role in the care we receive and are offered based on our abilities to pay.

Reference

Bachar, J. J., Lefler, L. J., Reed, L., McCoy, T., Bailey, R., & Bell, R. (2006, June 15). Cherokee Choices: A Diabetes Prevention Program for American Indians. Retrieved July 16, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637791/