Nursing in Barrow

There's been so many interesting things to share lately, but little time to write.  I'm studying evenings and weekends for a Maternal Child Health class being held in Juneau the first week of March.  It's very much like being back in nursing school and is enjoyable, but time consuming.   This morning the temperature is -20 F with snow and 16 MPH winds and snow coming from the ENE, making the wind chill factor -46F.  Brrr...am anticipating a chilly walk/jog across the icy lagoon to work this morning.  Cod liver oil on board and hot cups of tea before and after the trek = )  Hope this finds you all having rewarding, interesting, fun, productive, peaceful and profitable days wherever this finds you.   I'll look very forward to sharing more of the adventures from here sometime in March. Many blessings...Susi

Wonderful evening of dancing and drumming here in Barrow for Kivgiq.  Watch a live stream of events daily from 10 am Alaska Time until midnight or beyond each night.  Kivgiq ends Saturday night.  Fiddling tonight at midnight AT. http://www.livestream.com/kivgiq2013

Kivgiq, the Messenger Feast, 2013 begins in Barrow today traditionally bringing Inupiaq and Inuit people from villages across the North Slope of Alaska, Canada, Russia, and Greenland together to drum, dance, sing, share food, give gifts and barter.  Kivgiq occurs only every two to three years.  Here is a link to a live stream of the events beginning today at 10:00 am.  Enjoy!!! http://www.livestream.com/kivgiq2013

BARROW TO NUIQSUT TO DEADHORSE A taxi dropped my duffle bag, tote and me off at the Wellness Center early last Monday morning.  Bertrand and I would be catching the 10:45 am Era flight to Kaktovik where he would be introducing me to the clinic staff, training me in school screening and immunization inventory and where we would both be giving immunizations, helping to catch the village up in being covered from the diseases the vaccines prevent.  The sturdy leather case that I’ll carry many of the supplies I need on village trips resembles the flight bag my father used while I was growing up and the one my son-in-law, Josh, uses now.  I believe theirs have held/hold flight plans and logs, and perhaps manuals and things having to do with navigating their aircraft.  Mine is filled with patient intake and encounter forms, vaccine information sheets, Bright Futures handouts for parents, immu...

It continues to be very cold here, especially on days like today when the wind blows relentlessly and is accompanied by low temperatures.  I may take the bus to work or back if it gets colder, but so far am keeping toasty warm in my layers of down, fleece and Gortex, Baffin boots and several layers of gloves and mittens, neck warmer, hat and scarf.   I was slightly disoriented after leaving the post office today, missing the opening in the fence where I usually begin my return walk home.  The daylight makes things look different...I feel sure that I wouldn't have missed my route if it were still dark.       An Inupiat woman saw me looking puzzled and asked where I was going.  She gave me directions and offered to have her son or husband give me a ride home.  I was impressed that the entire time we were talking, she wasn’t wearing gloves and she was waving her arms in the direction of my street, not seeming cold at all.   I was...

Here's a link to the Store Outside Your Door program:   http://www.anthctoday.org/storeoutside/ Have fun watching the videos and reading up on the use of traditional Alaskan foods.  Lots of other health-related information as well.

Last week, Tlingit chef, Rob Kinneen, Dr. Gary Ferguson, Alaskan Native naturopath with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and co-developer of the “Store Outside Your Door” program, Teresa Hicks, dietitian  and Ralph LaForge, lipidemiologist and sports physiologist from Duke University, visited Barrow to take part in “A Week of Healthy Living 2013” sponsored by the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital Diabetes Prevention Program.  The first of the DVD series “Weight of the Nation” was shown on an evening early in the week, potlucks and Eskimo dances took place on several nights, a half day IHLC: Almost All About Food conference was held, and a week-long diabetes clinic with clinicians from Anchorage and Fairbanks took place, offering local and village residents treatment, testing and/or education.  The week culminated on Saturday at Ipalook Elementary School where a 3K/5K walk/run was held as well as activities and booths including relay races, weight-carr...

I felt like and almost said “I love you…” as I followed the little four year old girl that I’d just given four shots to down the hall and into the waiting area.  She had come in with her mother and little sister for her four year old immunizations.  She was due for DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis), IPV (inactivated polio vaccine), MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) and Vericella (chicken pox) and because she hadn’t received a flu shot this year, her mother agreed to her getting one.  She was very reserved when I greeted her when she arrived, but warmed up as we talked while I was getting her height and weight.  She and her sister seemed to love the balls I gave them each to play with while I asked her mother questions and then went to draw up the immunizations.  With quite a bit of resistance and some loud crying, her mother held her tightly on her lap while I quickly gave the DTaP and MMR in one little leg and the IPV, Varicella and flu in the othe...