Cherokee day 3

Today was day 3 at Cherokee. We began by separating into groups and transitioning into different sections throughout the hospital. One other student and I started at the family care clinic down the street. We met the nurse practitioners who act as the primary care providers in the clinic. The nurses there explained to us about how the members of the tribe who complete high school, get a GED or turn 21 they are given between 100,000 to 500,000 dollars along with free college tuition if they choose to go but they feel like the anticipation of this causes a lack of motivation and further problems. The healthcare system of Cherokee is governed by the EBCI Tribal Council appointed board, which consists of community leaders, tribal member health care professionals, and other professionals (Cherokee, n.d.). The members of the health care team actually collaborate together rather than communicating with notes or over the phone. The physician, pharmacists, nurses, nurse case managers and social workers all cooperate together to make sure the patient gets the best and most accurate care possible. From being in the emergency room for the second part of the day I was informed that all of the members of the tribe get free healthcare and are treated when they arrive. The nurse we were following stated that this causes a lot of repeat patients and heavy loads of unnecessary arrivals. For example someone with a scraped knee would get more than adequate care at a clinic rather than an emergency department. She did tell us that everyone that arrives regardless of his or her needs (unless it is a severe emergency where they get taken elsewhere) gets fully treated and sent off as needed. The entire interdisciplinary team works together to treat the patient. This is beneficial especially with polypharmacy and reducing errors. I actually felt as if the organization was similar to ours. Their equipment was similar and the patient care felt similar. I did personally feel more welcomed by the physician that was in the ED. Some doctors don’t give students the time of day but this particular one would explain everything he was doing as he was assessing a wound and even offered to allow us to pack the wound (he wasn’t aware we could only observe). When it comes to complimentary medicine we were informed about acupuncture and massage therapy that occurs in the hospital. One type of complimentary medicine that we became aware of today was the raw Baltic amber. Apparently this bean offers soothing properties for infants who are teething and are constantly drooling. This drooling can cause a rash from constantly having contact with skin. These beans relieve the pain from teething and stop the drooling. This was totally new to me and I thought it was very interesting. Overall I feel like we had a beneficial day. We still are going to view a drama later tonight and I feel like it will further expand our viewpoints of this culture.

The Cherokee Indian Hospital. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://cherokeehospital.org/page?title=About-Us