AL-HILLAH, Iraq— Iraqi nurses trained with Soldiers of the172nd Infantry Brigade medical team, 10th Combat Support Hospital and 115th CSH during a four-day medical symposium at Babil Maternity Hospital July 26-29.
The symposium consisted of nursing and midwife training for Iraqi nurses. Midwives, emergency room, ward and premature intensive care unit teams worked with 40 Iraqi nurses and midwives to aid them with infection control, patient assessments and other skills.
“We’re trying to provide education for the nurses and midwives who don’t have the opportunity to further their education outside of Iraq,” said Capt. Sharon R. Owen, brigade nurse, Company C, 172nd Support Battalion.
The symposium began by separating the Iraqi nurses into smaller groups and touring the different areas they worked in. “I’m so excited to learn all the things the American nurses have to share with us,” said Neda’a Wahab, midwife and health researcher. “They have new information and they’re here to support and help us to grow in our profession.”
After the medical teams saw the different areas of the hospital, the structure for the symposium began to change.
“We originally were going to perform rounds every morning, except for the last day, but through our observations we needed to rework what we planned,” said 1st Lt. Betty Moore, general medical surgeon nurse, 10th CSH, a native of Canyon Lake, Texas. “We focused the second day of the symposium on applied training such as patient assessments and bedside assistance.”
On the third day, the teams performed rounds and trained in the hospital wards. The midwife team trained on preventing postpartum hemorrhaging. “Deaths from postpartum hemorrhaging is a major problem here in Iraq,” said Sundus Karam Ali, head emergency obstetrics care nurse. “We are very grateful to have this opportunity to work with the American nurses and learn what they know.”
The last day of the symposium, the groups stayed together as the medical teams instructed them on neonatal resuscitation. The medical team presented each midwife and nurse with a certificate of training for the symposium.
“This is a very small step in empowerment for nursing in Iraq,” said Owen, a native of Cincinnati. “However, I think that we’re showing them that there are more opportunities as a nurse and leaving them with a broader knowledge of skills.”
