Sitting Still

The end of my trip is fast approaching so I am trying to really enjoy life here. I think the hardest thing about this trip has been the pace of life. We, in the US, have gotten so use to the hustle and bustle that we do not realize what life would feel like without all of our distractions. Here in Ghana, I've had more than plenty time! Many Ghanaians are very content to just sit and look around. Me, I would have gone stir crazy if I did not have my Kindle and Laptop. Attempting to write my blog every night and reading the over 20 books have been a lifesaver!

I think this trip has been successful. I think I've started the ball rolling for future Physical Therapy volunteers, but I've wasted a lot of time too. However, the average Ghanaian does not think like that. There is no such thing as productivity or deadlines. Things get accomplished sometimes, on their own schedule. People at times seem frustrated with the lack of progress here, but they also seem very content with the amount of time they personally spend at work. I think the average work day here is about 6-8 hours; however, from what I've observed, they probably only spend 3-4 of those hours doing work related tasks. This may be true for most Americans now too, since we spend so much time answering emails or playing on our iphones, so I'm not trying to be critical.

I am a very laid back person so I don't always care for the rudimentary time schedule we have in the US. It's stressful having to be on time. Here, I'm suppose to be at the hospital at 8 am, but I usually get there at 8:20. I don't usually find Celestine until 9 am, so I figure, I might as well sleep an extra 20 minutes. In the US, most of my jobs had productivity standards of at least 80%. That means 80% of my time at work was suppose to be billable time spent with patients. I don't disagree with that idea. I'm a therapist, I want to be working with my patients. However, that never left much time to find the doctors or nurses to discuss a patient, document on each patient, or call a patient or family member if there were concerns. Here, after observing 5 hospitals, I can say that they barely spend 50% of their time treating patients. The government run hospitals are so busy, too. However, they just are very inefficient in how they spend their time. I guess that all stems from the fact that they get things done when they feel it needs to be done. I try not to get frustrated by this attitude, since it's a difference in culture. I don't really think that we can say it is wrong either. Needless to say, it has made my suggestions to the various departments very hard to implement.

I've enjoyed the slowness to an extent, but as an American we are use to seeing results fast! My volunteer packet explained a lot of these cultural differences so I understood I was going to have to deal with them. I guess, I'm just thinking more about it now that I only have 3 weeks left. I'm questioning my time here. I wonder, did I make any impact? Did I really help any of the patients I saw? Luckily, I have documentation. It's a little biased since I wrote it, but this blog will allow me to always reflect on my time here. I definitely did not transform the whole PT profession in Ghana, but I know I planted a few seeds here or there. Also, I know that there are great Ghanaian PTs, named Lewis and Cinderella, which will help those seeds grow. I will cast my insecurities aside. This trip was successful! I am just one puzzle piece, but I know a lot more will fall into place once I leave!

Love, Kari