This morning around 8am, nine other students and I ventured down to the waterfront to catch a ferry to take us to Drøbak, a small coastal city in Norway. It was a dreary morning, so a few classmates and myself napped during our hour and a half ferry ride, but I did manage to snap some shots of the views during our trip:
Dock at the waterfront
Views from the many stops made on the way to Drøbak.
Once we arrived, we headed to a Christmas store filled with every size Santa gnome you could ever imagine. (Rumor has it Santa is actually from Drøbak!)
After we purchased some souvenirs, we headed to Crocodile Corner for lunch. It was an Italian restaurant inside what felt like a cozy log cabin that even included a (fake) fireplace.
Kash and I sharing a colossal calzone.
Throughout our stay here in Norway, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of Tesla’s on the streets. I’ll see one every so often in Columbus, but it feels like here it’s every 5th car I see. After talking to my Norwegian nursing partner and doing a bit of research, I discovered that Norwegians get, “subsidies, free parking, and toll-free roads” as part of a package deal when purchasing a Tesla (Reid, 2018). By offering this package, Norway is contributing to Sustainable Developmental Goal #7, Affordable and Clean Energy (United Nations, n.d.). By offering a discount on electric/hybrid cars, people will not need to use as much fossil fuels and can transition over into using more clean energy.
While today was a free day so there was not any clinical experience, the Core Competency for Public Health Professionals I saw the most this week during my clinical time was Communicaiton Skills. There was one patient in particular where we arrived at her home and she was very confused and hypoglycemic. Her blood sugar was 2,6 mmol/L (or 37 mg/dL). We then looked around her apartment to find some food we could give her to increase her blood sugar. We settled on a jar of chocolate spread, but she was so confused that she didn’t understand what the nursing student was saying to her. Since she was not comprehending her words, the student then demonstrated what she wanted her to do, which was put the spoon in her mouth and eat the chocolate. This is a prime example of Core Competency 3A7, which is, “Facilitates communication among individuals, groups, and organizations” (Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice, 2014). The nursing student recognized the patient was not able to understand how she was communicating, and then adjusted her approach in communication so the patient could understand. She then called the urgent care to explain the situation to see if they should come bring her in or if she was okay to stay at home. They ended up deciding she could stay as another nurse was coming to check on the patient in an hour.
As a future pediatric primary care nurse practitioner, communication skills are something that I will need to practice regularly. I will need to recognize where they are at developmentally and adjust my approach accordingly. Similar to my experience on the home visit with the hypoglycemic patient, I see myself needing to demonstrate often what I want my patient to do. For example, demonstrating on a doll proper teeth brushing or practicing how long to wash our hands.
References
Reid, David. (2018). The country where a luxury Tesla has become the budget option. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/30/norway-where-the-electric-tesla-has-become-the-budget-option.html
The Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice. (2014, June 26). Core competencies for public health professionals. Retrieved from http://www.phf.org/resourcestools/Documents/Core_Competencies_for_Public_Health_Professionals
United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/