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Nolita Madros, |
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| MARLA: And so you -- so can you tell me about some of the other villages that you worked in, as well, as an itinerant? NOLITA: I worked in Point Lay, I went out to Point Hope for a week. Worked in Point Lay, Wainwright, Ataqsuk, and of course, I lived in Kaktovik for, like, four years, so. MARLA: So when you were living in Kaktovik, were you -- were you still itinerant at that time, or were you the community health aide? NOLITA: No. I was the community coordinator instructor for North Slope Borough on the east side -- east side villages, which -- which would be Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, and Anaktuvuk. MARLA: So what did that mean, you were coordinating -- NOLITA: I kind of came to all the villages with the village CI visits, make sure everything was in order, make sure everybody's training was up to date. Kept track of how many education hours they have, and did a basic, you know, checklist, there are PCCs that check off, make sure they covered all the spots, you know, on the exam and stuff. MARLA: And then what about I would imagine if you're in one spot for a long time you would know -- you would know the people's medical history as soon as they walk in. What's it like when you come to a village and you don't know, you're kind of working with a clean slate? NOLITA: Well, in most of my patients, if I'm just going into the village, I -- I at least want to see the charts before I go to the patient. And then once I get into the patient, you know, being with them, I just flip through the chart to see, you know, what's current, what needs to be done, what's happened in the past, you know, you have to do a chart review for every patient. MARLA: Yeah. And how many people are we talking about when -- in the villages? NOLITA: Some people do six appointments a day, some health aides do six appointments a day, but like in cold season, I try to do two patients an hour. MARLA: Wow. That's a lot. NOLITA: And two patients an hour is a lot, but there's been times where I shouldn't have, but I -- you know, my appointments, I max three people an hour because larger communities, less health aides, you spend less time. MARLA: Right. Yeah. You have to get people healthy. NOLITA: Yeah. Yeah. So definitely, anything over an hour, I -- I -- none of my appointments last over an hour unless it's critical care. MARLA: Okay. And so how long were you an itinerant? NOLITA: Gosh, from '99 until -- well, '99 for a couple of years, then I was in Kaktovik, and I was an itinerant last year when I came here. MARLA: Okay. So you were an itinerant when you came to Anaktuvuk Pass, and then you decided to stay, or -- NOLITA: Yeah. MARLA: And what made you want to stay? NOLITA: I've -- I came here before and I was CI for this area, and it's just a beautiful place. And the scenery, and if I need to go downriver, downriver is to Kaltag, to my home, I could jump on the morning Warbelow's and be there by four o'clock in the afternoon. So I could be home same day, whereas if I live on the North Slope, per se, further north, I'd have to overnight in Fairbanks. MARLA: Right. Because there's no -- no direct flight -- NOLITA: Yeah. So. MARLA: -- to -- NOLITA: It's easier for me to get home from here -- MARLA: Okay. NOLITA: -- if I have to. But basically, I just like the community and I like the people. And they have pretty much welcomed me into the village. So. MARLA: That's great. Yeah. I was wondering because I wondered if there was sort of a cultural difference because you're Athabascan and this is an Eskimo village, so I wonder if you had any -- NOLITA: Discrimination issues? MARLA: Yeah. Yeah. NOLITA: No, not really. They -- they pretty much welcome most everybody into the village. It's very -- the people here are very nice. And I like it. MARLA: And do you have any language, have you ever had any language problems? Are there elders who only speak Inupiat and -- NOLITA: If I need help in interpreting, I always get the CHR Alice Ahgook. She's a good speaker, fluent. She can interpret for me. MARLA: Okay. Have you had many -- many instances like that, or most everyone -- NOLITA: Most everybody can explain in English very well. MARLA: Yeah. NOLITA: You know, most of the elders are both English and Inupiat speaking. So. MARLA: Yeah. NOLITA: That's good. That helps. | |
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Last updated 11-4-06
Last updated 11-4-06