Heroes
Project: Healthcare On Wheels: Medical Mission amidst the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines.
Premise: Last 2018, The Mayon Volcano Erupted in the Philippines, causing numerous injuries, and health issues to the citizens around the area. Team LAHWIN (The team I was a part of) was one of the first responders to deliver medical care to the victims of the eruption. The team composed of healthcare professionals from different hospitals and specialty decided to enact a project called Healthcare on Wheels to address the needs of the victims.
Note: For privacy concerns, all the names of the heroes who responded to the eruption have been replaced with a different name.
Me: Before becoming a Professor, I worked as a pharmacist in a hospital. I was assigned to handle all the drug related component of the project from organizing, dispensing, and transporting the medication used for the mission including counselling the victims on how to use the medication.
Andrea: She is an ICU nurse. She was responsible in triaging the victims in the eruption. She checked for the victims’ vital signs and performed Trauma Informed Care when needed.
Mia: She was a Medical Assistant to the clinic that Mike works at. She served as our logistics officer on site and made sure everything was in order. She was also responsible with communicating to all members of the team about the operation.
Mike: He is a Medical Doctor and the leader and organizer of the whole operation. He attended to all the patients in the operation and even performed minor surgeries to some of the victims. He was also the person who procured all the medication donated to make the project possible.
Rey: He is an ICU nurse who worked at the same hospital that Andrea worked at. He was responsible in triaging the victims in the eruption. He also checked for the victims’ vital signs and performed Trauma Informed Care when needed.
Allison: She is an OR nurse. She was the next person each victim goes through after the Triage. She performs trauma informed care to most of the victims and assisted the other nurses when needed. She also cleaned the victims’ wounds before sending them to Doctor Mike.
Nick: He is a floor nurse. He was working in tandem with Doctor Mike in attending to the victims. He assisted in all the minor surgeries. He also coordinated with me whenever Doctor Mike needed medications to the victim he was attending.
Patterns/Gaps: Everyone on the team is from healthcare or was in a healthcare related discipline which made communication with each other easy when we were in the middle of the project because we could freely use medical jargon efficiently. Each individual has different specialty in the team, but each of us complimented each other as our skill was all required in order for the project to be successful. Hence why I have used a round table as an image as no one was more important than the other in the team. Each deferred to the expert of the field to lead when necessary. So, we were able to make use of each others’ difference in perspective in a positive way. This has definitely influence me in teaching because it helped me understand that since each person has lived different lives, hardships, and experiences, so when comes to solving problems there are things people see that I do not see while there are things, I see that they won’t see. This helped me be more open and listen to ideas or suggestions. Furthermore, this allowed me to treat each student concerns on each own instead of just thinking it is the same with everybody else. On a different note, due to the immediate nature of the project, we were making things up as we go. So, I would have liked it if we had a better step by step plan on enacting the project for future collaborations if possible.
Closing Remarks: While the project/mission was arduous. It was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The team has overcome all the challenges to give medical care to the people affected by the volcanic eruption. All members of the team had hospital shifts the very Morning we got back, but every person in the team still gave their all in helping the victims, they spare no energy in their efforts to provide care. No discrimination. No, selfishness. No greed. It was just a pure act of kindness and compassion. Two things humanity needs more of these days.
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