Day 3: Monday

Today was a very busy, but great day!  We started off bright and early, and headed down the mountain to the Swain County Hospital.  This hospital is a rural hospital with a total of 22 beds.  We were able to meet with several people, such as the Chief Nursing Officer, quality and assurance manager, and even the Vice President of the hospital.  It is typical for the entire hospital to be run by 5 nurses, a couple CNAs, and just a few ancillary staff.  One of the nurses on the inpatient unit explained to the students how important it is for them to have a variety of skills and learn as much as they can.  She mentioned that in larger hospitals, it is more common for nurses to be skilled in just their own area of expertise, but rural health nurses have to be skilled in all areas.  How interesting it was to hear that they only admit approximately 2-4% of the patients that come to that hospital, and the rest have to be sent to larger hospitals, sometimes over an hour away.

We also learned first-hand about Southern hospitality, because when we arrived to the hospital, they had a full cooked breakfast for all the students!

After touring the hospital, we headed back to Cherokee and went to the Cherokee Indian Museum.  Students were able to learn about Cherokee beliefs, the 7 tribes, the effects of the Trail of Tears, and how important Cherokee customs are.  

We also visited the Ocanuluftee Indian Village to learn about the history of the Cherokee Indians and even participated in traditional Cherokee dances.  The students did a great job dancing!

The students unanimously voted to end the day with tubing down the Ocanuluftee River.  The students learned very quickly how cold mountain water can be.  We survived the trip, even though several students lost their tubes over the course and we had a few close calls with the rope swing.  We all laughed the entire way and there are so many entertaining videos for us to watch over and over.