Margaret’s final blog before returning
The healthcare system here in SA is unique, the nurses here have more autonomy and authority than in the US, but they also can have up to 90 pts on a night shift. This recently made headlines, a nurse had 90 patients on a night shift at a state hospital, Dora Nginza. There is also a major difference between state and private hospitals here. A private hospital is comparable to all of our hospitals. The state hospitals, well, let’s just say, I wouldn’t seek healthcare from there. Nursing assessment and care is done the same way here that we do on the US, we do however, have much more modern equipment, I have seen metal bedpans and emesis basins in use here and that is standard. There is really not a thing here like a nurse practitioner, the nurses can go on in schooling to receive special certificates in child birth, OR, prescribing meds, etc, but there is no official specialty for a nurse practitioner. It has been an enlightening experience here in SA, I hope to return again soon.
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