Chatting with Baby

                Periodically, we have a Haitian nursing student named Baby working with us in the clinic. She has not been able to come very often lately since our clinic hours overlap with her school hours. It is a holiday week here in Haiti, so schools (among other things) are closed. Luckily for us, this meant Baby was able to join us in the clinic for a few hours this morning.  There is so much Baby teaches me, from better ways to teach patients, to education points for patients. She has a way of putting patients at ease and getting them chatting that is incredible to watch.

                This morning, probably thanks to the aforementioned holiday, we finished seeing patients fairly early, giving Baby and I a few minutes to chat. She told me about what nursing school is like for her, what they do and what she likes learning about. It was so much fun hearing about the similarities and differences compared to when I was in school. We talked about learning to read physician orders, the first time we gave  a patient a shot. Some experiences in becoming a nurse transcend cultural boundaries! 

               The unexpected bonding time was a gift. It can be so easy for me to get so caught up in the day to day demands and responsibilities of the clinic that I barely take time to talk to people, or build relationships like I intend to. The conversation with Baby this morning was a delightful reminder of why those things are valuable too.