Medical Volunteer Spotlight - Lori Bizzell, R.N.
Children's HeartLink is fortunate to work with medical volunteer, Lori Bizzell, R.N., who is on a three-month assignment in Bangalore, India. During her stay in Bangalore, Lori has offered to share some of her journal entries on her experiences. We share these entries below as part of a special medical volunteer spotlight.
Number of Years with Children's HeartLink: 3 years
Occupation: Registered Nurse, Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU
Institution: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford
Education: BSN, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Interests and Hobbies: Dancing (clog, swing, salsa), Traveling, Spending time with family and friends
Favorite Music: All kinds; love swing dance music!
Favorite Movie: So many! The Prince of Tides, Babel, Monsoon Wedding, The Royal Tenenbaums, Napoleon Dynamite
Currently reading: In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India
Favorite quote: "No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." Lyn Yutang
October 20, 2009
As I approach the midway point of my time in India, looking forward is much easier than it was on my arrival. First, I will say that this visit is unlike any medical mission trip I’ve been on. HeartLink took a leap of faith sending me on my own, and even though I was eager to go, being here at first proved more difficult than I imagined. I’ve had to learn how to best spend my time inside and outside of work, all while adjusting to a culture that is obviously different from my own. I’ve been extremely thankful for my previous exposure to India on medical trips with HeartLink and my team from Stanford.
After my arrival, I realized my task was much like being handed a job with all the autonomy you could want but not knowing where to start. While adjusting to a unit 3 to 4 times larger than any I’ve worked in, I’ve had to be creative in finding ways to fit in. Luckily for me, the nurses are eager to learn, and there is already well established teaching in place. I spend the majority of my days teaching newer nurses about care specific to post-op cardiac patients. The senior nurses have sought out education on more advanced topics which has led to formal teaching sessions. My other projects during my time here are to write a practical exam for the staff nurses and develop an infection control video which covers procedures done in the ICU.
Some issues the unit faces are not unlike those faced by hospitals in the US, and one of those is high nursing turnover. The unit trains a lot of nurses and many of them leave once their two year contract has ended. This issue is magnified by the sheer size of the ICU. With over 60 beds in their pediatric cardiac ICU and seven to ten surgical cases a day, the bed flow is quite heavy. It takes a lot of nurses to care for this high volume of patients and the patient acuity warrants caregivers who are well trained and experienced.
I have been thoroughly impressed by the nursing staff and the care they give their patients. The nurses, physicians and administrative staff have been extremely welcoming and it’s been fun for me to find ways to contribute. I feel as though I’m gaining much more than I’m giving and I’ll cherish the life lessons I leave with. I’ll also cherish these weeks with nurses whose main concern for me is whether I’ve had my breakfast, lunch, or more importantly, tea.
November 8, 2009
With a few weeks left in India, I can now properly tell people where I work (Narayana Hruduyalaya) and live (Shanthinikethan) without pointing my finger the direction of the hospital or guesthouse. With those pronunciations mastered, I’ve also started my own translation diary.
Are you taking a class? Translation: Are you teaching a class?
You can imagine the confusion this caused my first couple of weeks. I kept thinking to myself, why is everyone asking if I’m taking classes… “Um, sure, I can take class but I’m here to teach as well… How about you? Are you taking some classes?” Shy response: “No, not taking any classes.”
Had your breakfast? Translation: Good morning, how are you?
Had your lunch? Translation: Good afternoon, how are you?
Had your tea? Translation: It’s tea time. Stop what you’re doing and let’s have tea.
The past couple of weeks have been really busy. The nurses are approaching me with so many questions and I love the new opportunities to teach. How many days did I enter the unit hoping for any opportunity to feel useful? I guess you can’t replace the time it takes to build rapport and get used to new surroundings. Having done travel nursing, it feels much like that--a three-month contract gives you just enough time to get used to a place. Now that I’m adjusted and comfortable here, it saddens me to think about leaving. All the things that at first felt so different to me are much less…abnormal.
End of November, 2009
My last month in India went by really fast… I continued to have many new experiences and one of them was the celebration of Children’s Day. On November 14th, Narayana Hrudayalaya celebrated Children’s Day with a ceremony on its 5th floor ward. Seeing kids eating cake and running around playing, I almost forgot I was in a hospital. I got to reconnect with several children who, days or weeks prior, had been in the ICU recovering from heart surgery. The resilience of children is amazing, and these children and their parents had a lot of reason to celebrate!
Spending time at the hospital on Children’s Day, I was reminded of why I came to Bangalore. When Children’s HeartLink told me about the opportunity, I read about Dr. Shetty who founded Narayana and was inspired by his dedication to improving the lives of children. His belief is that no child should be deprived of the best health care and no one who comes to Narayana is turned away for lack of funds. On Children’s Day, the parents who accompanied their children at the ceremony showed so much gratitude to the nurses and doctors at Narayana.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of what Narayana Hrudayalaya is doing in India. The three months I spent in Bangalore were life-changing, and I look forward to hearing about the wonderful things Narayana Hrudayalaya continues to do in India. I also look forward to serving alongside Children's HeartLink in the future and being part of its mission to heal hearts worldwide!
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