Lending a Hand in the HIV/AIDS Clinic

By Erica Chambers

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Over these past two weeks I’ve had the privilege of volunteering at the care and treatment center at the hospital in Nyakahanga. This center specializes in treatment and counseling services for patients with HIV/AIDS and TB. Like most clinics that specialize in these areas, its mission is to detect and treat early signs of TB. This clinic also provides a lifelong treatment plan for patients living with HIV/AIDS. Their goals are to boost adherence, counsel in family planning, and reduce the stigma associated with HIV. During my visit, my job was to do patient intake. I would measure the patient’s body weight and sometimes height in order to help the nurses to perform the nutritional assessment. I am working on charts with one of the staff nurses in this picture.  Over 70 patients come to this clinic on a daily basis, so I was always able to keep busy. I greatly enjoyed my time at the clinic because I was able to learn a lot about various medications for HIV treatment. I will miss my time at the clinic because I made extraordinary connections with the nurses and I was able to practice my Swahili.