First day of our medical mission

What an amazing day, to say the least. We just completed our first day of our medical mission and have 2 more days to go here in Cabatuan, Isabela. We were invited to a breakfast at the home of the governor of the area and then promptly led to the field. Once we pulled up, we were treated like absolute all-stars by all the friendly Filipinos who waited patiently for our arrival. Lots of "hello's" and waves as we walked by.

Some of us were assigned to surgery and some to pharmacy, but the majority of us went to triage. I have to say...it take pure guts to do what we did today!!! How many people can truly jump into something they've never done before on a scale this immense, with lots of pressure to do the job quickly yet efficiently, and all with a language barrier that stands squarely between you and your patient? Every patient encounter was different yet we got real good at what we did. By the end of the day our confidence was sky-high!!! We can't wait to return tomorrow.

Each of us learned something about ourselves today -- we make great team players, we are adaptable and flexible, and we will make fine nurses really soon.