Lessons from Assam
Sr Sheeba, Sr Jinni and Rontu Sangma of Pallium India in Guwahati with the NHSRC team
Sheeba R.S, Staff Nurse & Section Head – Clinical Training, Pallium India, writes:
In March 2022, Sr Jinni Joy (Staff Nurse, Pallium India) and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Assam for a week that left us with unforgettable memories.
We were received warmly at Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Silchar on March 21, 2022. As part of the orientation program, Sr Sarita, Head Nurse, gave us a brief introduction about the centre and its activities. We met and interacted with Dr Ravi Kannan, Padma Shri awardee, who is the Director of Cachar Cancer Centre.
(Image: from left: Sr Sheeba, Dr Ravi Kannan, Sr Sarita, Sr Jinni)
Later that day, we held a session on ‘Role of Nurses in Palliative Care and Oral Care’ that was attended by about 40 nurses.
The next morning, we accompanied their home visit team, and were able to guide the medical team about pain assessment and administering morphine. We also answered several questions and concerns raised by a patient and family. After returning to the centre that afternoon, we conducted a session on ‘Specialised Nursing Issues’ for nurses.
On March 23, we reached Guwahati, where Rontu Sangma (Regional Coordinator – North East, State Facilitation Team, Pallium India) joined us.
Jinni and I facilitated a training on ‘Basic Nursing Skills’ for National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) that was attended by 44 state level trainers, including community health officers and medical officers from North Indian states. Also present were six master trainers.
We also had the opportunity to meet the palliative care team of ‘Arujivn Healthcare Foundation’, a non-government organisation (NGO) founded by Dr Sanghamitra Bora, and to understand their activities.
We returned to Thiruvananthapuram on March 26 realising once again that each journey and every encounter invariably presents some new lessons.
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