What

We have talked a bit about who I am and when I will be going, so I thought it was time to tackle the question of what I will be doing. Here is the official job description: 

Job Summary:
Serve at Bethesda Hospital in the areas of midwifery and general nursing.  Part time teaching and mentoring Indonesian nurses and students formally and informally.

Responsibilities:
Care for patients in the obstetrics department.  Assist in births. Teach staff.  Improve quality control measures, establish training sessions.  Care for general ward patients. Assist in disbursal of donated medical supplies.  Teach several hours a week in the nursing school.  Mentor nurses and nursing students. Supervise practical experience of MedGo student nurses.

To me that sounds like more than a full-time job! As always though job descriptions tend to be a bit flexible and I am sure there are things not listed as well. From my past time serving at Bethesda I know there will be also be some administrative responsibilities, helping to provide medical care for the expat population of the area, and working with short-term workers.

The two areas I think I am most excited about are providing care to women as a certified nurse-midwife and working with the nursing and MedGo students. During previous times serving at Bethesda Hospital I came to face-to-face with the tragedy of maternal and neonatal mortality in the developing world. So many mothers and babies that could have been saved with simple prenatal care and skilled care during birth. You can click here to watch a video posted on my other blog for more information about the tragedy of maternal mortality. (While you are there take a few minutes to read my other post - it has pictures of me as a kid!) I have spent the last three years learning as much as I can about how to help prevent these tragedies. Now I have the opportunity to use that education and skills to help the women of Indonesia. I will also have the opportunity to teach and help others learn those same skills. Some of the young nursers will soon be serving throughout Indonesia and hopefully one day in the world beyond through the MedGo Program (more on that soon). 

So that is a whole lot of words but as they as say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here is my job description in pictures.

Teaching practical skills to nursing students

Providing medical care for other missionaries living in the area including "catching" their babies

Teaching nursing students in the classroom

Mentoring and Discipling

Coordinating short-term workers

Working with patients in the hospital

And of course "catching" a few babies