Day 4- Sunday, March 12th
Sunday was our last excursion day before heading to our clinical sites. For this day we were traveling to Seward, Alaska which is an even further drive from where we were staying in Anchorage. It’s about 2 hours away but most of the drive was through the mountains so we definitely never got bored. We listened to a variety of music from Ed Sheeran to Shania Twain (and I’m sure our professor, Elisa, enjoyed our beautiful singing abilities for the entire 2 hour trip).
The first thing we did in Seward was visit the Alaska SeaLife Center. We were able to see different types of sea lions, fish, birds, an octopus, etc. It was pretty cool! There was a lookout area over the water and we were able to see more sea lions swimming around by the mountains. After we made our way through the exhibits we went to lunch and shopped in a few of the local tourist stores. Once we made it around town we drove through the mountains even further onto the shore of Seward and wandered around the beach. It may not have been hot and sunny but at least I can say I was able to spend time on a beach for spring break! The shore and the mountains are something I’ll never forget. It was just breathtakingly beautiful. Seward is definitely a place I would like to go back and visit again.
We spent all day in Seward but it still didn’t feel like enough time. After we took our stroll on the beach we packed up in the car and started our journey back to Anchorage (listening and singing to our music once again). It was a very relaxing and peaceful day and I’m glad I was able to take in everything Seward had to offer!
Day 5- Monday, March 13th
For our fifth day in Alaska half of the group traveled to their clinical locations in Bethel and Good News Bay while the rest of us had the opportunity to visit the main hospital in Anchorage. The Alaska Native Medical Center was a much bigger facility than I had expected it to be. It was a beautiful hospital and I can honestly picture myself working there one day if the opportunity presents itself. We first heard the story of women by the name of Josie Ambridge and it was very touching. She told us her story and described her background as well as what lead her to work at ANMC. We also listened to presentations of other staff including nurses, NPs, and an engineer. The engineer was neat because we learned about how a lot of the people located outside of Anchorage and in villages live and what he does to help them heat their houses, access clean water, access health care, etc. It helped me see the other side of health care we don’t typically see in hospitals. I got a better picture of how a lot of people in Alaska live especially those who are further away from clinics and other types of medical services.
After the morning presentations we were able to talk about the Telehealth AFHCAN systems that were implemented in clinics and facilities not in close proximity to the main Anchorage hospital. It allows clinical staff to send pictures, video, or transmit live to doctors, physicians, etc. in another location so the patient doesn’t have to commute such a long distance and worry about how they’ll have time or the resources to visit the facility. It was pretty fun to play around with some of the equipment, see how it works, and learn about how much it has improved the patient care and satisfaction of those who seek medical services.
We took a break for lunch and visited more buildings around the campus. The last learning experience I had at ANMC was in the traditional healing clinic which was something very new to me. There is a man who is a certified traditional healer and truly embodies the term holistic healing. He performed a song for us and gave us a tour around the clinic. The patient rooms were different than most clinics I’ve been in so it was interesting to hear what he does to help heal patients and why the rooms are designed the way they are.
Next we were to be given a tour around the hospital but because Sami, Kaylee, and I were going to Homer with Andrea we had to leave early (Anchorage to Homer is a little over a four hour drive and it was already 3:30pm). We said goodbye to the other students staying in Anchorage and began our trip to Homer.
This was one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever seen. We were in the middle of the mountains and saw snow, trees, and rivers. It was so gorgeous! As we kept driving and got closer to Homer I spotted my first moose! We slowed down to get pictures which definitely made us look like tourists but we didn’t care.
We didn’t get into to Homer until late and we stopped at Don Jose’s, a Mexican restaurant, in town to eat dinner. Funny enough our waiter was from California but actually lived in Duluth for a while before moving to Alaska. (I felt like I met more people from Minnesota in Alaska than people who were actually born and raised in Alaska so that was something I wasn’t expecting). Come to find out the next day, our waiter was actually the ex-husband of Sami’s clinical preceptor. This really showed us how small of a town Homer really is. Nevertheless it’s a beautiful place that would teach me a lot within the coming days. After dinner we hit the road again and pulled up to our new house for the next few days. It was an incredible cabin that’s owned by the people on the TV show Alaska: The Last Frontier. Kaylee and I took the beds in the windows of the master bedroom which had an amazing view. I fell asleep watching the moon reflect on the water over the mountains. It was a sight I’ll never forget.
Sunday was our last excursion day before heading to our clinical sites. For this day we were traveling to Seward, Alaska which is an even further drive from where we were staying in Anchorage. It’s about 2 hours away but most of the drive was through the mountains so we definitely never got bored. We listened to a variety of music from Ed Sheeran to Shania Twain (and I’m sure our professor, Elisa, enjoyed our beautiful singing abilities for the entire 2 hour trip).
The first thing we did in Seward was visit the Alaska SeaLife Center. We were able to see different types of sea lions, fish, birds, an octopus, etc. It was pretty cool! There was a lookout area over the water and we were able to see more sea lions swimming around by the mountains. After we made our way through the exhibits we went to lunch and shopped in a few of the local tourist stores. Once we made it around town we drove through the mountains even further onto the shore of Seward and wandered around the beach. It may not have been hot and sunny but at least I can say I was able to spend time on a beach for spring break! The shore and the mountains are something I’ll never forget. It was just breathtakingly beautiful. Seward is definitely a place I would like to go back and visit again.
We spent all day in Seward but it still didn’t feel like enough time. After we took our stroll on the beach we packed up in the car and started our journey back to Anchorage (listening and singing to our music once again). It was a very relaxing and peaceful day and I’m glad I was able to take in everything Seward had to offer!
Day 5- Monday, March 13th
For our fifth day in Alaska half of the group traveled to their clinical locations in Bethel and Good News Bay while the rest of us had the opportunity to visit the main hospital in Anchorage. The Alaska Native Medical Center was a much bigger facility than I had expected it to be. It was a beautiful hospital and I can honestly picture myself working there one day if the opportunity presents itself. We first heard the story of women by the name of Josie Ambridge and it was very touching. She told us her story and described her background as well as what lead her to work at ANMC. We also listened to presentations of other staff including nurses, NPs, and an engineer. The engineer was neat because we learned about how a lot of the people located outside of Anchorage and in villages live and what he does to help them heat their houses, access clean water, access health care, etc. It helped me see the other side of health care we don’t typically see in hospitals. I got a better picture of how a lot of people in Alaska live especially those who are further away from clinics and other types of medical services.
After the morning presentations we were able to talk about the Telehealth AFHCAN systems that were implemented in clinics and facilities not in close proximity to the main Anchorage hospital. It allows clinical staff to send pictures, video, or transmit live to doctors, physicians, etc. in another location so the patient doesn’t have to commute such a long distance and worry about how they’ll have time or the resources to visit the facility. It was pretty fun to play around with some of the equipment, see how it works, and learn about how much it has improved the patient care and satisfaction of those who seek medical services.
We took a break for lunch and visited more buildings around the campus. The last learning experience I had at ANMC was in the traditional healing clinic which was something very new to me. There is a man who is a certified traditional healer and truly embodies the term holistic healing. He performed a song for us and gave us a tour around the clinic. The patient rooms were different than most clinics I’ve been in so it was interesting to hear what he does to help heal patients and why the rooms are designed the way they are.
Next we were to be given a tour around the hospital but because Sami, Kaylee, and I were going to Homer with Andrea we had to leave early (Anchorage to Homer is a little over a four hour drive and it was already 3:30pm). We said goodbye to the other students staying in Anchorage and began our trip to Homer.
This was one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever seen. We were in the middle of the mountains and saw snow, trees, and rivers. It was so gorgeous! As we kept driving and got closer to Homer I spotted my first moose! We slowed down to get pictures which definitely made us look like tourists but we didn’t care.
We didn’t get into to Homer until late and we stopped at Don Jose’s, a Mexican restaurant, in town to eat dinner. Funny enough our waiter was from California but actually lived in Duluth for a while before moving to Alaska. (I felt like I met more people from Minnesota in Alaska than people who were actually born and raised in Alaska so that was something I wasn’t expecting). Come to find out the next day, our waiter was actually the ex-husband of Sami’s clinical preceptor. This really showed us how small of a town Homer really is. Nevertheless it’s a beautiful place that would teach me a lot within the coming days. After dinner we hit the road again and pulled up to our new house for the next few days. It was an incredible cabin that’s owned by the people on the TV show Alaska: The Last Frontier. Kaylee and I took the beds in the windows of the master bedroom which had an amazing view. I fell asleep watching the moon reflect on the water over the mountains. It was a sight I’ll never forget.