Burkina Faso: Medical

Nursing In Africa

Nursing in Africa is not like nursing in the United States. In Africa, the nurses are cheaper than doctors and have much of the same authority. Nurses treat and re-treat wounds on a daily basis to try to prevent infection or prescribe pain relievers.


During a recent surgery, I had the opportunity to take the position of the scrub nurse in the operating room. I held the tools for the doctor, cleared away excess blood, and manipulated the skin for better access to the injury. It was a fascinating experience to be so up close and involved with the surgical process.

The glorious healing that a treatment can provide testifies to the one true Healer.


I also put my first IV in a child the other day, which was very difficult to reconcile, emotionally. For a child who is already hurting, it pained me to cause fear and even greater pain through the insertion of the IV. 

However, when I saw the vibrant little boy the next day, running around the clinic in hardly any clothes, clutching his IV bag, the tubing draped across his body and around his shoulders, I began to realize the deep benefits that medicine can offer these people. The glorious healing that a treatment can provide testifies to the one true Healer.