FLC Barefoot Doctors

Barefoot Dr. Students are loosening up.

The barefoot doctors have kicked off the new week, even sneaking some education in over the weekend. One of the resident dogs had a bite wound to his belly that had become infected. The instructors gathered all the students together Saturday morning to discuss wound care and care of infected wounds, while Jove cleaned out the wound and started antibiotics. Lynda has been very creative in getting the patient to take his medicine, but little Rocky still holds a grudge against Jove for washing out his wound. 

Dr. Jove with patient

Wound care on dog.

wound care on dog

Starting Monday, Susan and Lynda continued through Where There is No Doctor, discussing care of the sick patient with and without medicine. Blood pressure and other vital sign measurement seemed to hold the student's attention best, but various games pitting the student's knowledge against each other keep them (and the instructors) engaged.

Given the abundance of dental disease in rural Myanamar, we were pleased to find most of the students do not floss their teeth on a regular basis. This was a great opportunity for educating the class, demonstrating good flossing technique, and giving them knowledge that will impact the health of people in their homes. 

Practicing flossing.

We've also started discussing the mechanics of giving medicine - which sometimes can involve a little math! Luckily, the student's fractions were up to speed and we were able to train on giving medicine through various practice scenarios instead of lecturing on something as riveting as pill division. After discussing giving the right quantity of medicine, the students made up sugar solutions and practiced injecting oranges, practicing pharmaceutical compounding and safe injection technique at the same time! Of course, almost all of the medicines that the students take back to the village are oral only, and it is heavily emphasized not to inject medicine when oral medicine will work. However, some medicines such as epinephrine, used for treating severe asthma and anaphylaxis, are only effective in injection form.

Injections lab

We've still got an enormous amount of material to cover, but the class is learning quickly and building trust between themselves and the instructors.