Nursing in Barrow

Two of my clients last week were teenagers in need of immunizations in order to begin school in Barrow.   Their grandmother was acting as their temporary guardian until their mother arrived, hopefully sometime in the next several weeks.   While talking with the teenagers, I learned that unfortunately, their father was incarcerated somewhere in the Northwest.  The grandmother shared that she has lived in Barrow for several years and knowing that her daughter and her grandchildren needed a safe haven and a new start, invited them to come to Barrow to live with her.  The two oldest children flew up on their own while their mother plans to drive up the Alcan Highway to Alaska and on the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Deadhorse.  The only way from Deadhorse to Barrow is on the ice road from there to the village of Nuiqsut and then by having two snow machines pulling one’s vehicle on large sleds to Barrow.  There were several startling bits of informati...

The days are wonderfully long here in Barrow.  The sun shines brightly late into the evening and is up well before I begin my walk to work close to 7:30 am.  It seems as if more people are outdoors in the evening, especially children.  My pleasant, but quiet, walks home from work have transitioned into enjoyable ones with friendly waves from children sledding on high mounds of snow in their front yards, jumping on trampolines, still bundled in their heavy winter clothing, riding snow machines or playing with dogs.  The temperatures have been hovering between – 16 to +8 ᵒ F this week and last, so warmer than the consistent -20 ᵒ or colder in the weeks before. There is a long, tall three-sectioned staircase on the side of the apartment building next to mine that isn’t in use, at least as a traditional staircase.  It’s been filled with snow and packed down to make a course perfect for young children to slide down from top to bottom.  I often hear laughi...

It’s difficult to live up to the high standards that are ingrained in some people from some cultures so I knew I was in trouble when I closed the door to my daughter and son-in-law’s house at 3:40 am last Saturday morning, giving me just five minutes to meet my German friend, Bernd, who had volunteered to meet me where I would store my car and to drive me to Sea Tac airport for my flight back to Barrow. The sound of rain made me shiver as I finished packing and writing notes to my family. It had been a wonderful two weeks and I was dragging my feet, thinking about leaving them for another long stretch of months in Barrow. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the door to find the temperature not cold at all and because the rain had already fallen, it was cascading down the sides of the street and into drains making a sound similar to that of rain falling. The effect was a pleasant one as I hastily finished packing the car and headed to the storage unit, although my emotions we...

I’ve been reluctant to write to the blog lately, feeling a deep sense of loss after a co-worker was asked to step down from her position.   Her presence was one of the things that brought a certain amount of joy to the clinic.   She seemed naturally to be upbeat and made her work day enjoyable regardless of the many stresses that might occur on any number of levels.   She was someone that I also enjoyed spending time with outside of work as she was relatively new to Barrow as well and enjoyed exploring it with me.   I suppose that a co-worker losing their position always opens up the possibility in one’s mind that it could happen to oneself.  Being a new nurse and learning at an exponentially quick pace has made me feel somewhat vulnerable.  The work is exciting, interesting, fulfilling, but also challenging and exhausting at times, demanding all of one’s mental as well as physical resources.  My probation ideally ends on April 12, six months...

I began training on Monday morning regarding counseling and treatment of STI’s (sexually transmitted diseases) when a phone call came from the jail relaying that an inmate wanted to be tested, believing that he might have chlamydia or gonorrhea.  In reviewing his health summary, I could see that he was overdue for Tdap and flu immunizations, so packed them in the cooler to bring along with doses of Ceftriaxone, Lidocaine and Azithromycin.  The Ceftriaxone is a powerful antibiotic that can be painful when received, so is diluted with Lidocaine before injecting.  The Azithromycin is given in pill form.  It is effective against chlamydia and together with the Ceftriaxone and Lidocaine, is effective against gonorrhea.  The thought of anyone making choices that leads to incarceration always saddens me.  After being admitted to the jail, Liliana, the CNA who is the lead in testing for STI’s, and I were led to a common area and could see several inmates behi...

I haven’t written on the blog recently, feeling a deep sense of being overwhelmed with all there is to learn, retain and do in the public health nursing role.  Many nights have found me still at work beyond 7 pm, even several recently until 9:30 and 10:00 pm, attempting to be caught up with the day’s work and documentation while also preparing for the well child class held in Juneau last week.  I have fallen asleep or not = ) most nights with well child checks, TB follow-ups, eligibility for State supplied vaccines, pertussis investigations and all that I’m learning about STI treatment and investigations vividly running through my mind.  I long for a clear mind and deep sleep.  Maybe it will come tonight after journaling/blogging again. One can sign up to participate in a study about the effect of cold on one's hands (first photo).  Shortly after arriving in Barrow, my hands became cracked, dry and very painful because of the extremely dry climate here. ...

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