Bethany is our lead in the OR. This means that she organized and oversaw packing for all the OR supplies that we shipped or carried to Rwanda. This is her second trip to Kigali with HHNW but her first as lead. It has been a challenge but she has learned and grown from her experience.
Bethany is an RN in charge is in charge of prepping the patient for surgery, making sure all paperwork is complete, consents signed, doctors' orders are verified,works with the anesthesiologist, tracks vital signs, sets up the OR tools and then during surgery, she acts as a circulator who is available to fetch anything needed outside of the surgical field as well as counting and tracking sponges, needles and instruments used.
Bethany was born in Spokane and then moved to Fairbanks, Alaska until she was 18 and returned to finish nursing training at Gonzaga She has worked at Providence Sacred Heart for 2 years. She has always wanted to do open heart OR.
When she was 18 she visited Uganda and knew she wanted to return to Africa to do some healthcare work. To keep "her eye on the prize", she had the map of Africa tattooed onto her foot. This helped to keep her motivation. It must have helped because she has been here twice with us and loves the work and Rwanda!
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