Module 8: Healthcare in the ASEAN Community
Table of Contents
Pretest
Read the following text and answer the questions.
Introduction
Cambodia – nurse volunteers needed
Posted on August 30, 2013 by NU admin
(P 1) Guest post by Sandra Downs. Sandie is a children’s physiotherapist who has worked in Vietnam and Cambodia with GGC Volunteers, who are looking for nurse volunteers for Cambodia. They are hoping to attract students or graduates who are able to be self-funded. They aim is to provide only enough input to the Cambodian organisation to guarantee its immediate functioning, so that it is run by Cambodians for Cambodians.
(P 2) As a long-term volunteer in Vietnam, I thought I’d become immune to most of what orphanages and hospitals could throw at me. Inexplicable fevers (treated by rubbing the body with citrus), skin conditions that spread like wildfire but looked nothing like I’d seen before, many children with untreated hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy languishing in darkened rooms, tiny malnourished children being fed rice soup with huge adult spoons while lying flat on their backs and frequently struggling to cough, breath and cry all at once…
(P 3) Despite many trips to Vietnam, however, I wasn’t prepared for Cambodia and I’m still shocked by my experiences there.
(P 4) Along with an Australian man (working as GGC Volunteers), we have funded the start-up of a local non-government organisation (NGO) called New Smile for Children (NSC), run by a Cambodian social worker. His primary goal was to provide medical care to a slum community of around 1500 homes. People from this community had no access to first-contact medical care and (assuming they had the money to travel the 16km into Phnom Penh by tuk tuk) we heard many stories of children being turned away from local hospitals, particularly if the child had HIV/AIDS.
(P 5) Our medical clinic is now open and we have employed a dedicated Cambodian nurse. The community has embraced our service and, so far, the success of our venture is gratifying.
(P 6) Prior to going to Cambodia, I ran a very successful social media campaign for donations of first aid equipment and I was able to take over around 40kg of equipment (they will never run out of Band-Aids!) We were also able to source big equipment in Cambodia.
(P 7) In both Vietnam and Cambodia, what is taught at tertiary level in professions such as nursing differs markedly from in Australia. A fully qualified nurse may have an exceedingly different level of knowledge and practical skills compared to nurses trained in Western countries. GGC Volunteers aims to provide our Cambodian program with nursing students above second year level and qualified nurses or first aid providers to help support and educate our Cambodian nurse. We wish to act as capacity builders to improve the knowledge and skills of the local staff to bring them to self-sufficiency.
(P 8) The possibilities are endless for a motivated volunteer to be a real force for good in this severely disadvantaged community. Basic nursing education to support our local staff, devising and assessing programs for malnourished children, disease education and prevention, needs analysis for ‘hidden’ members of the community such as those with a disability who do not access any form of ongoing health care, planning and participating in a mobile clinic for outlying slum communities, advice on the running the clinic, vaccination programs … the list of ways a nursing volunteer could help is truly endless.
(P 9) A cross section of what our clinic deals with on a daily basis includes frequent cases of diarrhoea, chest infections, grossly infected wounds and bites, fevers, skin conditions, broken arms and eye infections.
(P 10) All members of the community are welcome at our clinic, not just the young, and we have helped many frail elderly who are not receiving adequate health care or nutrition. We participate in a rice program to help those without jobs in the wet season and provide mosquito nets for Dengue fever prevention. It’s clear that what we do is not enough, but with the help of dedicated nursing volunteers this very small but very dedicated Cambodian program will be on its way to improving health outcomes for the community.
(P 11) If you’re interested, it’s important to realise we’re advocating true volunteering, not simply a holiday in an interesting country. Our clinic is 16km from Phnom Penh, reached by tuk tuk. You will stay in a guesthouse in Phnom Penh and will need to be self-funded. Our fee is necessary for the continued payment of our rent and our nurse and to stock the clinic.
(P 12) Our clinic is a modern two-story house, which is clean and has running water and Western toilets. We are only 200 metres from the slum community and your first visit will undoubtedly shock you, as it did me. The main entrance is generally covered by fetid sewerage water, which the children happily use as a pool. Any spare block of ground is generally used as a rubbish dump, with no organised rubbish collection system. You will walk along a failed attempt at plumbing, a huge broken pipe, and see the foul green water that runs under many houses. Look closely and you will see insects writhing around in the water. Most one-room corrugated iron houses are home to at least five people and assorted malnourished chickens and animals. It’s not pretty, it’s a slum and its people desperately need you.
(P 13) While our Vietnam program, Care and Share Volunteers, does not necessarily require experience, our local Vietnamese physiotherapist does need help in orphanages, which don’t have access to medical staff. We have a number of disabled children who are frail. Helping our physiotherapist identify common childhood illnesses and conditions and providing him with knowledge and skills empowers him to liaise with the carers and staff at local facilities. One way this is of huge assistance is having the knowledge to recommend (and facilitate) the child being seen in an appropriate hospital to increase the likelihood of correct diagnosis and treatment.
(P 14) To find out more about working as a nursing volunteer in these extremely disadvantaged communities, simply go to our website or our Facebook page (GGC Volunteers). Address any questions to volunteering@gamagroupconsultancy.com and we would be delighted to give you firsthand information.
(P 15) GGC Volunteers is a small organisation with one main purpose, to support small grassroots organisations in developing countries in need. We can’t wait to help you realise your dream of volunteering and using your unique skills as a nurse where it is really needed.
Contact GGC Volunteers: volunteering@gamagroupconsultancy.com
(Source: http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/cambodia-nurse-volunteers-needed/ retrieved 26/1/2014)
Matching:
A: Match the questions with the correct answers. (A-J)
A. |
To explain all the symptoms she met in Cambodia |
B. |
Phnom Penh |
C. |
A fully qualified nurse may have an exceedingly different level of knowledge and practical skills compared to nurses trained in Western countries. |
D. |
For example, devising and assessing programs for malnourished children, disease education and prevention, needs analysis for ‘hidden’ members of the community such as those with a disability who do not access any form of ongoing health care, planning and participating in a mobile clinic for outlying slum communities, advice on the running the clinic, vaccination programs. |
E. |
New Smile for Children |
F. |
A Cambodian social worker |
G. |
A children’s physiotherapist who has worked in Vietnam and Cambodia with GGC Volunteers |
H. |
Self-funded |
I. |
To describe the area that the volunteers will be working in |
J. |
If they had HIV/AIDS |
B. Match the following vocabulary and expressions with their appropriate meaning.
C. What do the following pronouns refer to?
| Pronoun |  Click Answer Key |
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‘who’ (paragraph 10) |
|
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‘those’ (paragraph 10) |
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‘which’ (paragraph 12) |
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‘it’ (paragraph 15) |