Surgery is only half the goal

Christine Cain (Clinical Midwifery Specialist), has been volunteering with Open Heart International in Nepal for the past five years. Chris came to know about Open Heart International through another volunteer who she works with at Hornsby Hospital in Sydney.

As a young nurse there was limited opportunity for volunteering so Chris has valued the experience so far in Nepal. Her first three years on the team was a Ward Nurse and she supported the local nurses as they cared for pre- and post- surgery patients. The last two years she has moved to the Recovery area, supporting the local nurses with looking after patients immediately post-surgery for vital signs, manage pain and bleeding and liaising with the anaesthetist and surgeons.

Since joining the team in 2013, Chris has been tasked to conduct formal training to the Nepalese Obstetric Nurses on various topics. This year she has been teaching on the subject of Cord Prolapse which is about knowing the risk factors and responding to the emergency of a cord prolapse. The session had an audience of 12 Nepalese nurses during her training session, all engaged and interacting with Chris as she quizzed them. The nurses asked relevant questions and seemed to be soaking in the information being taught to them by Chris.

The large women’s health and maternal health challenges faced by Nepal can’t be completely solved just by the intervention of visiting teams for short periods each year, continuing education is the key. The education that can be imparted to the Nepalese healthcare professionals during Open Heart International’s visits aims to increase their expertise to be able to deliver enhanced care.