Becca noticing stark differences between healthcare in the US and SA

So things are happening so quickly here while in South Africa it is crazy that it is March already. I have been learning so much at Tafelsig and really starting to see the difference between not only how healthcare works between our two countries, but also about different priorities people have between people in the United States and South Africa. Take this week for example, someone died in the community and this woman was known for being so kind to all the sisters in the clinic and multiple people like Sister Castle and Sister Stoops were crying because this woman who cooked food for all the staff at the clinic was now gone. It was so sad and also so amazing so see the sense of community at a clinic. That kind of compassion that the sisters have with the patients here just does not really exist in America because people spend so much time avoiding the hospital and trying to get out as possible.  Even though at Tafelsig they serve a large number of people every day with a limited amount of resources, they seem to spend a great deal of their time developing a genuine relationship with the patients, which I think is amazing and needs to be happening more between doctors and patients in the United States.

           

Working at the clinic has really allowed me to see some very stark differences in the healthcare systems between the United States and South Africa. And I am not talking about the obvious in terms of availability of resources, but just the attitude that people display while at work. When I volunteer at the hospital back home, I have noticed that a lot of the nurses are very grumpy and really don’t want to be at work. While here, all the staff have their full attention on the patients that they see. It is just really different and it seems a lot of the time healthcare in the US is all about money and not about taking care of the patient. And coming to this realization has definitely been a hard pill to swallow, especially since I want to work in the healthcare field. Will my values really clash with the way the US healthcare system is set up? I guess I won’t find out until I head back home.