How a trip to Africa changed this Bing student’s life

Asante sana. In Swahili, it means “Thank you very much.”

That’s what Brooke Thayer, a senior nursing student at Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, wants to tell the staff, patients and family members she met during a one-month externship in Africa this summer. Why? Because they changed her life.

When Thayer left Binghamton on June 6, she embarked on a journey of firsts — flying by herself, traveling outside the U.S. and participating in a medical volunteer experience through International Medical Aid (IMA). It wasn’t, however, the first time she had planned such a trip: Thayer, then in high school, was set to go to Brazil in 2020 until COVID-19 halted travel two weeks before her flight.

Her desire to volunteer in another country and explore a different culture didn’t diminish, so while looking for externship opportunities in her junior year at Decker College, Thayer investigated IMA’s program. Volunteers, who can be students or healthcare practitioners, choose their location and the duration of their experience (the program runs year-round). After narrowing her choices to Kenya or Peru, Thayer chose Kenya.

“I could have chosen anywhere in the world,” Thayer said. “What drew me to IMA — which had fewer options for where you could go — was I wanted to get something meaningful out of the experience. If I had gone to Italy or Spain, it would have been more of a tourist experience than a hands-on learning experience.”

The hospital and the community

Once in Mombasa, Kenya, Thayer spent a week each at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital’s pediatrics, intensive care, accident and emergency, and obstetrics nursing units.

“I picked up as many extra shifts as possible so I could experience more, so I also got to work on the newborn, gynecology and surgery units,” Thayer said. “I observed complex surgeries, sometimes back-to-back-to-back. A lot of them were emergency surgeries.”

During her regular shifts, Thayer practiced nursing skills learned at Decker and in clinicals, such as passing medication, drawing blood, taking vitals and recording medical histories, all under her nurse preceptors’ supervision. In the pediatric and newborn units, she also fed, bathed and changed the babies.

IMA’s program also included a structured schedule of lectures, simulations and community outreach activities. Weekly lectures focused on the history, culture and people of Kenya, while simulations combined group discussions with skills demonstrations on techniques such as intubating a patient, drawing blood, inserting an IV, placing a catheter and performing CPR.

Thayer and the other volunteers participated in weekly community outreach events focused on a different location and specific need each week. First, they taught middle schoolers women’s health and hygiene, then proper oral and hand hygiene for primary-school children, and finally, they discussed mental health and healthy coping strategies with teenagers. Children were invited to submit anonymous questions at all three events, which volunteers answered.

“Some of the kids got really deep with their questions, especially with the women’s health topic,” Thayer noted. “A few children revealed they had been sexually assaulted. It was very hard to hear, but we were thankful we could give them a safe space to talk about it so they can get help.”

The fourth community outreach event was a visit to an orphanage, where the team delivered food, toys and supplies they had raised money for.

Thayer also worked at community health clinics on Saturdays that featured various healthcare stations. While most of her fellow nursing students chose to collect vital signs and medical histories, Thayer preferred the pharmacy care station. There, she filled prescriptions under a pharmacist’s guidance, wrote medication instructions and delivered medications to patients. Thayer said they provided medication to more than 800 people in one shift.

“It was so gratifying feeling useful to so many people,” she said.

While Thayer felt prepared for the clinical side of the externship, she admitted to being utterly surprised every day: “I watched monkeys sneak in through the windows to steal food from the patients and helped treat injuries caused by elephant stompings, machete attacks and monkey bites, things I would probably never see here in the U.S.”

Also shocking for Thayer was the hospital’s severe lack of supplies and basic equipment, such as thermometers, and a nurse-patient ratio that was sometimes as high as 70:1.

When the pediatric unit ran out of baby formula, Thayer used her own money to purchase toothbrushes, toothpaste, diapers, blankets, formula and baby clothes to donate to the unit. Later, she’d regret not knowing about the issue before her trip because she would have organized a fundraising effort and brought supplies with her.

Thayer was awed by the nurses’ ingenuity in accomplishing tasks despite the scarcity of supplies and equipment: “The nurses had to rely on creativity, resourcefulness and straight passion to get things done. It showed me that I had to adapt quickly and be creative, too.”

Not only did Thayer grow close to the nurses she worked with — she has open invitations to stay with several on her next visit — but she also connected with the patients (young and old) and their families.

“I’m in Kenya, so I stuck out like a sore thumb; a lot of us students did,” Thayer laughed. “People kept asking me, ‘Why Kenya?’ and then we’d start talking. I made a lot of really good connections.”

One of those occurred on her first day in the pediatric unit when a newborn was found in a cardboard box outside the hospital. After the baby was assessed, Thayer fed, bathed and dressed the infant. It was an instant connection!

“Even when I wasn’t in pediatrics, I would get on the early bus and sneak up to peds to care for that baby,” she admitted. “The day after I left, the baby was adopted, and the foster parents are still in contact with me. Those experiences — the personal connections I made and the people I helped — are the most gratifying part of the experience.”

Exploring Africa

IMA volunteer students and practitioners live at the IMA residence, although the two groups are housed in separate buildings. Thayer had two roommates and enjoyed the rest of the gated compound, which included a pool, communal eating area and large living rooms. A cook provided meals for the volunteers.

When not on shift at the hospital or participating in an IMA community outreach experience, Thayer and the other volunteers grabbed meals, played soccer on the beach, visited the zoo, sang karaoke and went on IMA-led excursions. She explored the Vasco da Gama Pillar in Malindi, snorkeled at Watamu Beach, visited the Ruins of Gedi and got a firsthand glimpse of traditional tribe life at a cultural center.

Political unrest broke out briefly during her trip, causing the program to halt volunteer visits to the hospital for a day or two. However, Thayer said she always felt safe since IMA provided guides and security and required volunteers to use only their approved services.

A new perspective

The externship solidified Thayer’s desire for a healthcare career but changed her perspective. Now, instead of “just getting a nursing job,” Thayer is considering getting involved in health policy and becoming part of the process.

“There’s so much to healthcare outside of the U.S. and even within the U.S. working with rural and vulnerable populations,” she said. “I want to help people who really need help. I want to really make a difference. I’m not exactly sure how I will do that yet, but the wheels have started spinning.”

One thing is certain: Thayer wants to return to Kenya.

“100% I will go back: I made so many friends, and the experience was incredible,” she said. “I haven’t bought a ticket yet, but I’d love to return after taking my NCLEX next summer. I would even consider going to work there someday.”