Wednesday Clinics

Today was such a great day.  We began with a devotional session led by Tina, dealing with 1 Corinthians 12, in which Paul spoke of the importance of each member of the body of Christ recognizing and fulfilling their God-given roles.  The talk really seemed to hit home with both students and our team members, and it was especially applicable in light of the fact that we and our friends from Nigeria were growing more and more appreciative of each other's God-given gifts.  We were in awe of the tremendous display of faith of our hosts in the face of frequent persecution, and they were overflowing with gratitude for the dental knowledge we were imparting to them.         

We started out the day with a review of the training from yesterday.  The students were able to give one another injections yesterday, but this morning's review session helped to fill in some gaps in the training, in preparation for real live treatment of patients this afternoon.   The students were soaking up the information with amazing proficiency, as evidenced by the thoughtful and insightful questions that they asked.

We spent considerable time discussing infection control this morning, explaining the importance of adequate sterilization procedures and ways to prevent cross-contamination.  It was fortunate that one member of our team, Ian, happens to be a physician who specializes in infectious diseases.  He and Janet reinforced the necessity of the students to protect both themselves and their patients during and after treatment.  

We returned from lunch to begin patient care, treating family members of those being trained.   A total of 18 patients were seen, requiring a good cross-section of procedures, including fillings, cleanings, and a few extractions.  Some students were able to fully meet their patients' needs, while most of them benefitted from additional advice.  While there was one molar that was broken during attempted removal, it ended up being a good teaching case, and Charlie did the honors of removing what remained, sending the patient home happy and feeling no pain.  The beauty of the afternoon was the sweet, humble, cooperative atmosphere that existed.  Students were encouraging and learning from one another during the entire three-hours of treatment, and you could feel their confidence grow with each patient.     

One interesting question came up today, relating to the students' desire to pray with their patients.  While praying verbally with Christian patients is something that they always appreciate, such is not always the case with Muslim patients.  Some of those with considerable experience interacting with Muslims stated that they might be offended by prayer in Jesus' name.  Therefore, students were encouraged to use their own discretion in determining when to suggest praying and when to pray silently.  This was an excellent opportunity to reinforce the importance of prayer- whether out loud or in our hearts- as a way of acknowledging our dependence on the Lord's blessing of our efforts.

This evening's dinner continued the solid streak of most delectable meals, consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce, hot mixed vegetables, yams, bananas and watermelon.  We spent time after dinner rehashing the events of the day and planning how to best help develop our students' abilities tomorrow.  The plan is to give them more freedom to diagnose and develop a treatment plan for each patient, then a doctor will verify the treatment plan and confirm that the student is capable of performing the necessary treatment.  This time they will be treating patients from a nearby community, rather than family members.  Only time will tell if they are up for the challenge.        

Bill for the team