Life in a sine graph- Community Edition
Sourced by A. Stewert, (2017)
I was on LinkedIn the other day and came across the graph above. It symbolized âlife is a sine curve,â with the analogy linked to the weather all year round. I thought to myself, âWhat better way to describe this block, than using a mathematical correlation that we are all familiar with?â Hence the title of my blog is âLife is a sine curve- Community edition.â
We started this block on quite a high, feeling refreshed after the relaxing holiday we deserved. Feeling very nervous but excited, the first week was orientating myself to the community, the many projects that I had to continue, and just trying to blend in. As the days went by, I slowly started to feel the physical and mental exhaustion kick in. Just like the highs and lows in the sine graph that many of us drew in school, this block felt just the same. Some days were good, and I felt like I was conquering the world, while other days felt like I was failing at everything. When faced with failure, we are often given two choices, either stay down or get up, just like how the following video describes, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NYXOo8y6MFg . I chose to get up!
Full disclosure, it was difficult to adjust to the informal conditions that we were working in, especially when you are so used to a structured system in a hospital setting, with specific patients in certain wards, and the variety of resources you have access to. Here we had to ârough it out,â and use what we had.
Physically, it was draining. Walking about 6 kilometres daily from the old clinic to the new clinic, being on your feet while screening patients, running after children in the primary school, and not forgetting to carry all the heavy tools, gazebos, and tables. Let me just say that community is not for the weak. Apart from what felt like physical torture, emotionally and mentally it was exhausting as well. I found it challenging to advocate for a profession, that not many individuals know of. More so, it was also very cognitively demanding, especially when we working long hours, and still had other submissions like essays and blogs to do. However, I am thankful that I got to experience this block the way I did because it was an eye-opening experience for me. Â
I watched the following TedTalk ,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDsT-25w14 , which talks about Personal Empowerment through reflection and learning something that Dr. Craig Mertler mentions that learning can come from asking experts for advice, and it is through their experiences that we hope we learn something. Within this block, even though I asked for advice from my supervisor and peers, a lot of the learning came from myself, and reflecting on what happened on a daily basis. I realised that learning does not rely on what others experience, but rather on how I approached the situation, what I took from it, and how I went back to look at the things I didnât know.
Something that I learnt very quickly into this block, is how important it is to have cultural humility. It is vitally important to understand one's culture, how one sees oneself when ill, and how important it is to respect individuals for whatever culture they belong to (Yeager et al, 2013). Although I was already practicing this, it was amazing to see how much of an impact culture has on the types of occupations individuals engage in and why. For example, I saw many women in Kenville, who reported that they are not working, because they are mothers, but the baby's father, who does not necessarily stay with them is financially supporting them. This is not an ideal situation that I was brought up in, but I realized that in the cultures and traditions practiced around Kenville, this is acceptable. Just like the image below, if we practice humility, we build trust and we demonstrate respect around our clients and their needs, we create positive change, and are able to sustain that change throughout their lives. This makes our therapy as OTs more effective as well.
Sourced by First Nations Heath (2016)
I learned a lot about an ongoing pandemic we face- Gender-based Violence, as illustrated in the image below. Especially when working in a community like Kenville. Â I screened individuals daily and nearly every third woman I interviewed was a victim of GBV. Initially, I thought it was impossible to have such high numbers, but after researching, I realised that it is true that 1 in 3 women experience some sort of violence every day (WHO, 2023). I was astonished at how strong these women are, and how some of them just have to get up and carry one living every day, as if nothing happened. I connected the dots as to how it not only socially impacts a woman, but also the children of the home and how these children grow up either thinking that violent behaviour is okay, or completely wrong. What really made me feel all kinds of emotions was also how these children protected their mothers and sisters against violence.
Captured by J. Gerber, (2021)
Another important thing I learned was having good communication, not only with the people of the community but with the MDT team as well. I learned that every member of the MDT team plays an important role in the well-being of every individual. Just like the image below, when we put pieces of a puzzle together, we complete a picture. Similarly, when we join minds with other professionals within the MDT team, we ensure that each client is getting complete care for their well-being. Furthermore, working with the MDT team also promotes clarity and continuity of patient care (OâDaniel et al, 2008).
Sourced from Impact Learning, (2023)
Professionally speaking, this block has made me understand the reality of working in communities, and how even though these communities lack resources, it does not mean that health care services must be deprived. People in these low-income communities need just as much care as those in private hospitals. I saw how health promotion speeches every morning made a huge difference in getting individuals to speak up about what is bothering them, and for them to ask for help. I also learned to ask questions that I used to think seemed irrelevant, for example, âWhat is your HIV status?â I finally understand the role OT plays with HIV patients, and how HIV impacts a person's health and well-being. I have also changed the way I think, whereas now I am thinking more deeply, researching more about topics that I am unaware of, and reading good literature to support my thinking.
On a more personal level, this block has made me more confident, especially when talking to strangers, as every morning we did health promotion talks where we advocated for our profession to the community. It has made me physically strong, after carrying the gazebo and tables every day, and all the equipment from one clinic to the next, and emotionally strong, especially when someone shared their grievances with you, and you had to hold back the tears.
I am eternally grateful for the highs on this block, especially when the children in the community are always so excited to see you, when the old Gogo finally gets out of bed, or when the old Mkhulo says âThank you, you helped me a lot.â It is because of these highs that I kept pushing myself. As much as I am grateful for the highs, there were equally, if not more, lows. Some lows made me cry, for example when your projects are just not working out, or when you client choses not to come for therapy and you have to start from the bottom all over again, but it is these lows that made me stronger. I will definitely be taking what I have learned in this block with me into Community Service and look forward to learning more in the years to come.
When I think back to the graphs I drew in school, the sine curve- community edition has by far been the best one I drew yet!
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References
August 16, 2023, from World Health Organisation: https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence
O'Daniel, M., & Rosentein, A. H. (2008). Chapter 33- Professional Communication and Team Collaboration. In Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Retrieved August 17, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/
Yeager, K. A., & Bauer-Wu, S. (2013, August 12). Cultural humility: Essential foundation for clinical researchers. Retrieved August 15, 2023, from National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3834043/
Zyl, M. v. (2023, May 30). Quarterly crime stats: schools are crime scenes. Retrieved August 18, 2023, from DA: https://www.da.org.za/2023/05/quarterly-crime-stats-schools-are-crime-scenes#:~:text=30%20May%202023%20in%20News&text=Given%20the%20high%20rate%20of,and%20staff%2C%20not%20crime%20scenes.


















