Interview with Stacie Pearce

My original interview did not load up, so here is my interview with Stacie Pearce, RN

Stacie Pearce is the team’s recovery nurse. Along with Dr Schneck she is the only returning member of the 2007 Ghana IVU team. Stacie is an RN in Salt Lake City where she has been working with children in the Rapid treatment unit (observation unit) and Emergency Department for eight years. She is also an instructor for the nursing school. When not at work she spends time with her husband Cody (last year’s Ghana mission secretary) and their many tropical fish tanks. She is also an avid dancer and musician.

In addition to the two IVU missions, Stacie has gone on numerous humanitarian trips. She organized several of the trips herself. She has traveled to Thailand and the Navajo Nation in the US.

Her assignment on the IVU trip is to take care of the children in the recovery room after their surgery. She also provides pain medications for the children when they are on the wards as well as making them comfortable in the PACU. It is often the case that IVU must provide medications for the children on the wards. She also gets a chance to come into the operating theatre and see the surgeries.

Stacie considers working with the mothers as a valuable part of her job. She has the job of explaining the surgeries and teaching them about the catheters. “The challenging part is to integrate their culture, traditions and expectations with our medical care.” This also goes for working the KATH staff as well. “There are things [in the recovery room] I would just do in the States, but here I must adapt to the Ghanaian way of doing things.”

“Here I really focus on the patient. Charting is minimal and we really only do what is necessary. I spend time with the children and not looking at monitors. When I come here I realize how in the States we are focused on paper not patients.” She also uses physical exam skills such as checking the color of the inside lip to check for oxygen saturation instead of focusing on a pulse oximeter. Another difference she notices is the lack of supplies.

She loves Ghana and the friends she has made. The genuine warmth and caring of the people here is what really impresses her. “People break into songs here and they are very grateful for what we do.”

Stacie is very humble but I can tell you she has been invaluable on this mission. Not only in her job as the recovery nurse but helping in the operating theatre and logistics of housing. She made sure we had a place to stay in Elmina and Accra. She has also been my roommate for the entire trip and she is a joy to be around. She is effervescent and very genuine. And she is one great barterer- this woman can really shop.

~Stephanya Shear