PAULA:  Yeah. 

KAREN:  So these classes you were teaching on teleconference how were they different from Session 1, 2, 3, 4 that the health aides got? 

PAULA:  Very different because in Session 1, we're learning about basic, basic training.  The basic things that you're supposed to learn like temperature -- vital signs, how to listen to the heart, and how to listen to the lungs, and feel for kidneys.  I mean, you know. 

Just -- and then from there, you go deeper into other things.  It just go -- go deeper into health care.  And like learning how to deliver is another.
 
KAREN:  So what is -- I've heard people use the abbreviation CME.  Continuing medical education.

PAULA:  Education.  Yeah. 

KAREN:  That's what these teleconference classes were? 

PAULA:  Uh-hum (affirmative).  And the teleconference classes were -- were like CMEs, each person who attend will get one credit towards CME.  And which is good.  Because the -- you know, a lot of the health aides, I encourage them to have further education and even get a degree.  They are doing it more and more, which is good.  Yeah. 

KAREN:  What would you say was the hardest or worst part about being a health aide? 

PAULA:  Well, the hardest thing about it is being called at night.  Before people learned that you have to call them for emergencies. 

Another hardest thing for me was that when suicides came, accidents came, people never used to have hardly any accidents.  That was before stronger outboard motors or snow machines.  They hardly have accidents.  But now you could -- snow machines, you get into accidents and people speeding around and -- or driving under the influence.

KAREN:  Uh-hum. 

PAULA:  We didn't have that in the past. 

So if somebody call me during the night, especially if it's a child with fever, I would tell them to give them a couple of aspirin -- or you know, aspirins, baby aspirins, and but I won't go to sleep until I get up and go and see that baby myself.  So I always end up getting up. 

And I find out later on, it wasn't only me, it was most of health aides that would just have to go out and check themselves.  Otherwise, it just constant bother them. 

KAREN:  What was the best part about doing the job?
 
PAULA:  The -- the best part was take -- being able to help people healing -- heal.  Like, you know, if they have sickness, you know, help them to heal by giving them instructions on medicines. 

Like one man I was taking care of, kind of elderly person, he finally came to clinic because he couldn't heal at home.  And he had rash.  He was old timer who have never -- modest person that, you know, he had rash in genital area. 

And I was reassuring him that -- not to -- not to be ashamed, that to me, the whole body is just like one part of the body or not.  Even the genital area is no -- no different from, you know, other part of his body.  I have to take care of it. 

So I start taking care of that.  He said even he's, you know, soak in the tub, and it seemed to be spreading, so I took care of him.
 
And each time he was really -- when I took care of him, he was really ashamed, you know, and would rather cover his face, you know.  But when he got good, he was so relieved, you know.  And so glad, you know, that was -- you know, that makes you feel good that they were able to help somebody. 

Like those people, pregnant women who couldn't urinate anymore because of the pressure from the baby.  And it's painful.  And so when I -- you know, when I let them pee, you know, with that rubber thing, bring it into their --

KAREN:  Like a catheter? 

PAULA:  Oh, catheter.  I couldn't remember.  But the catheter was just one.  I have to boil it over and over and over again.  Each time after use, I have to boil it.  That's the only way we could sterilize our equipment.  Yeah.