Cusco, Peru Surgical Trip

Archana: Susan and Mike Organizing Supplies

  Susan and Mike Organizing Supplies 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

PACU nurse Susan Bruch and anesthesiologist Mike Fallon organizing recovery room supplies, including Tylenol products generously donated by the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

Susan Bruch: 20 Years of Giving Back

I’m Susan Bruch, a registered nurse in charge of the recovery room on this Interplast trip. At home in California, I am a nursing instructor at DeAnza College. It’s been great to apply my skills of being an educator and a nurse with a background in pediatrics here in Cusco, Peru and in other countries with Interplast.

I love working with people from different cultures, which is one of the reasons I’ve volunteered with Interplast for almost 20 years. At DeAnza, I work with colleagues and students from many different cultures, so I appreciate the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds through Interplast. It really allows me to study and improve my communications skills, which are so crucial for the practice of nursing and medicine today.

Susan: Nurse Education

  Susan: Nurse Education 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Teaching is very high on my priority list for the day, even on an Interplast trip. For the past two days, I have supervised nursing interns here in the Cusco Hospital Regional, who have been incredibly helpful to me in the recovery room. This has created a valuable opportunity for education alongside the Interplast surgeries. Here you can see a photo of me with Shiowan, one of the hospital’s nursing interns. Shiowan has completed the required four years of nursing school, and is now doing an internship to specialize in pediatrics.

Susan: Maria Jesus

  Susan: Maria Jesus 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Today, I asked Shiowan to speak with the parents of one of our patients, Maria Jesus, to tell them how the surgery went. Later, we talked to Maria Jesus’s parents about proper follow-up care after surgery. I really believe in the importance of empowering the parents of our patients with medical knowledge about the health of their children. Interplast allows me to use my experiences as a nurse educator to help children and families, as well as the nurses who care for them.