Z (I will address everyone by the first letter of their first name, if you don't mind), S, and A drove to San Juan Regional Hospital at 9 AM for a 9:30 orientation about proper dress, behavior, and policies/rules involved in shadowing physicians at the hospital. There, Z, S, and A met up with J, whom they hadn't seen in several weeks and who was sporting a savvy haircut.
The four of us were instructed in a private room by a very hip, approachable younger woman who seemed to know much more about life in the hospital than we could even imagine that we knew. She mentioned certain dress code regulations that I had never even considered, but all of which made perfect and sudden sense. Example: nail polish is only acceptable in a hospital setting if you're not working in a hands-on fashion with patients, or if the nail polish is permanent and/or unchipped. If nail polish begins to fade and chip, it is no longer "wearable" and should be immediately removed to avoid transfer to patients via wounds and ingestion through the nose and/or mouth during a particular procedure. Acrylic nails are strictly prohibited, as they do a noteworthy job of transferring germs from patients to staff and vice versa.
And, though this is has very little to do with shadowing physicians, I personally learned that big purses are NOT "convenient." You drop one thing, particularly car keys, inside a big purse and you will not...I repeat, you WILL NOT find it unless you stop, put the purse down on a bench, and rummage through all of the contents. You will find the business card of someone you don't remember ever meeting and then debate for 2.5 minutes whether or not you want to keep the card or throw it away. Eventually, you will decide to keep it, in fear of losing what may become an important contact.
J then left to meet with his preceptor, while Z, S, and A toured a small section of the SJRH. One word: stunning. A healing garden behind the hospital completes the ambience of spiritual peace. We decided that the new wing of the hospital looked more like a hotel rather than a hospital.
After a break for lunch, we met with Mr. Dan Darnell for a whopping 4 hours. The man has incredible amount of energy and patience, and anyone lucky enough to work with him has been automatically blessed to achieve their goals in this city. His passion for helping the residents of Farmington is even more evident than the inevitable breakouts I get every time I plan to do something in front of an audience.. Mr. Darnell introduced us to several important team members and contacts, like Ms. Dorothy Nobis (President/CEO of the Farmington Chamber of Commerce) and Ms. Natalie Koehn (the bubbly recreation supervisor at Sycamore Park Community Center). We followed Mr. Darnell as he led us in a thorough tour of the streets and neighborhoods near Sycamore Park Community Center.
By the time we were finished, S and A were anxious to change out of heels and dress pants into flat sandals and jeans. A wore gladiator sandals for the first time ever (!). J's mother invited us for a dinner of tortillas, beans, ground beef, "hot" sauce and salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Dessert was fresh-from-the-oven angel food cake, strawberries, blueberries, and light vanilla ice cream, the first two ingredients of which Z, S, and A bought on the way to J's house.
It's worth noting that Nutrition Action magazine lists the guava fruit as the #1 Fruit for good health, based on nutritional values per unit mass. We advocate that everyone go out, buy, and consume guava. Right now. Stop what you're doing and...go...now.
At long last, the saddening time for "Good Night" was upon us, and three of us drove back to our hotel for a continued discussion of our project and then bed. The day had been full and satisfying til the very end.
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