Today is Tuesday, and it is our last full day in Birmingham 🙁 We met super bright and early this morning at 7:15 to board the taxis and head to the nursing homes! We were split into two groups of seven people each, and my group visited the Robert Harvey House.
When we arrived at Robert Harvey House, we had to sign in as visitors. I thought it was interesting that they had parrots right at the entrance to the facility. We were taken to the conservatory and were given drinks and croissants as a welcome. We had the opportunity to hear the pass off from the night shift nurses to the day shift nurses before half of our group split to go shadow nurses as they gave meds to patients, and the rest of us were first given a tour of the facility.
The facility had an outdoor ‘sensory street’ that mimicked a real street in England. It had a butcher’s shop, a bank, and an ice cream shop. The facility changes the theme of the sensory street to match each generation, so as time progresses, the sensory street remains a place that the residents can feel familiar in. They also had macaws, goats, and other animals outside!
After the tour of our facility, we got to round with the general practitioner (GP). We stepped into multiple patient rooms with him and one of the nurses. He was checking on all of the patients who had not had good nights last night, and those who had individual complaints, or concerns from family members. It surprised me how quick each patient interaction with the GP was. I have very little experience being in a dementia facility, so I’m unsure as if this quick interaction speed is just for the United Kingdom, or if it has more to do with the type of care it is.
Following rounds. those of us who had previously been given a tour got to shadow nurses during their med passes, and the rest of our group got to go on the tour. We shadowed a nurse named Keke, who is actually originally from Baltimore, Maryland! She took her time educating us on the different medications the residents were being given, and the different ways they were receiving them. One of the residents was prone to refusing medication, so she was given her pills mixed into some yogurt, which made it much easier for her to take them. We followed Keke around to multiple different patients rooms and she taught us exactly what she was doing in each one. This was probably my favorite part of the trip so far because we actually got to work with a nurse and follow her daily routine first hand.
We then met with some residents in the lounge. All of the residents I spoke to were so sweet and were genuinely interested in us and what we were doing here in Birmingham. We also got to eat lunch with them! It was such a positive experience, but I definitely still want to work in pediatrics.
After leaving Robert Harvey House, we taxied over to Birmingham City University for the last time, and met back up with the other group. We returned to the same room as we were in during the school nursing lecture, and we learned about endometriosis and menstrual poverty. It was really interesting to hear about how common endometriosis is, and learn all about how complicated of a disease it is. We were told that a lot of people who may potentially have endometriosis are told by their doctors that they should just assume they have it, and start pain medication. Because endometriosis requires an exploratory surgery to diagnose, many physicians and obstetricians take the ‘easy way out’ by just assuming. It was also interesting to learn about how Birmingham City University is working to combat menstrual inequity and poverty.
Our final lecture at BCU was on female genital mutilation. I was surprised to find out that this even existed, but even more shocked to find out that it sometimes happens in the United States. I will not go super in depth and detail about what we leaned, as it is quite graphic, but the process of female genital mutilation seems very traumatic. It can interrupt everyday life, cause infection, and prevent women from safely and properly being able to govern birth. It is typically done to secure virginity for custom/tradition, religion, hygiene, or cleanliness. There were a lot of complications that could be as severe as death.
It was bittersweet to say goodbye to BCU, but we are all so excited to go to London tomorrow We have a free night tonight to enjoy our final night here in Birmingham. I still need to pack but I am excited to spend our final Birmingham night as a group!