HBB Testing Day at the Kigali Health Institute

I hate tests. They create anxiety, they give that sense of gloom and doom because what if you look stupid in front of your peers? What if you are the only one who doesn't pass? What if you just can't remember or you forget a key step in the whole process?....I wonder if this is common angst the world over? I don't know the answer to that, but what I saw today warmed my heart. It was students helping each other. There was no judgment, just a helping hand when a step was missed. I can think of some institutions I've worked at that could take a few lessons from this. After all, isn't the point of resuscitation the teamwork it takes to save a life? We all make mistakes....all the time. Sometimes, if they are big enough mistakes, someone is hurt....or they die. The stakes are high. That being the case, wouldn't you rather have a team making the effort to keep you alive, safe, and well taken care of? Isn't that the premise of "two heads are better than one?" I think so. I think the American Academy of Pediatrics also must think so because the new Neonatal Resuscitation Program guidelines focus on communication and teamwork....helping each other through a resuscitation. After all, the person who scored 100% on the test isn't always going to be the one doing the resuscitating. Isn't it better to have a team of people who may have missed a few questions, but who, together, come up with the right responses? Some would probably still disagree with me, but they aren't teaching this class, and I operate under the premise that communication is good, teamwork is paramount, and demonstrating a critical thinking ability is more important than parroting a bunch of memorized information. It has been my experience in 31 years of nursing that most patients have not read the guidelines and action plans, so don't know if "a" then "b" and if "c" then "d.' They quite often skip over some of the steps or create new ones altogether! I'd rather see a person thinking about what to do based on what they are seeing rather than trying to make what they memorized fit the situation they find themselves in. Just my two cents worth.....

Today, I saw communication, teamwork, and actual thought processes....you know, education in action. So, screw the talking heads.....we have students who can think their way through a crisis and create better outcomes in the end. We have trainers who will go on to train others because in this country they know the consequences of being unable to come up with solutions to the problems they face. They see it first hand, every day. That, my friends, is evidence-based practice....it's boots on the ground, thinking on the fly based on what you know to be true, and relying on those around you to do the same. Soapbox done, here are the photos from our testing!

And they passed....every single one of them! Here we are with our new trainers in the HBB program. They communicated, they collaborated, and they thought about what they were doing....and not one person cried or felt stupid or bad about themselves because they did this as a team.....and so did we. I am proud of them and their accomplishment. I am proud of my team, too. You did this ladies.....you came to this country and gave of yourselves and left something behind that will have enormous, long-lasting impact. You gave them knowledge....and knowledge is POWER!