MARLA:  It sounds like it was really -- really difficult.  What made you want to become a health aide?
 
ROSE:  Me? 

MARLA:  Were you chosen or did you choose it? 

ROSE:  Well, I got chosen. 

MARLA:  You were -- who chose you? 

ROSE:  The council members. 

MARLA:  The Village Council?

ROSE:  Uh-hum (affirmative).  Uh-hum.  Well, I didn't mind.  I thought it was just a first aid thing, I'm going to put on Band-Aid, and I'm going to put on Band-Aid and I'm going to do a little stuff.  Well, that's pretty exciting for me.  I didn't know.  I didn't know it was going to be pretty bad.  I mean, it wasn't just pretty bad all the time.
 
MARLA:  Yeah.  What were some of the things that you remember that were really good accomplishments, things that made you really happy to be in the job? 

ROSE:  You know, when we're working at the clinic, we're just steady learning.  It's a -- we're doing the job and we're steady learning.
 
And we know by the end of the time that I was going to retire, just maybe while -- not -- I was about getting ready to retire, and when somebody called me up while I'm at the clinic, by the way they talk, I know of -- I know that this -- this is a pneumonia patient or I know what they are talking about. 
But I got it from Dr. Johnson.  You know, they work pretty hard to train us.  They work pretty hard.  And they -- they talk with somebody, they talk with patient in front of us.  And then they ask us question.  They are not going to tell us nothing, they are not going to tell us the answer. 

They tried to make us, if it was a skin problem, what we were in training and they asked us what we thought it was.  Or if it was pneumonia or a bad cough or whatever, they asked us questions.  What -- what we think is wrong with this certain patient. 

And most of the time I think all of us health aides had it.  We got it right.  The toughest one was skin problem.  And at the very beginning, pelvic exams was -- that was a complicated one.  But after a while, after that, we know.  After that, we know it. 

And like we had a microscope at the clinic that was a little bit tough -- tough one to identify the disease, but it helped me.  I used it.  I -- I don't know nothing about it right now.  I forgot now. 

But they work pretty hard to train us.  Dr. Johnson did.  He say if we got stuck, we're in class right now and they are talking with us and if things got pretty mixed up with us while they are talking, they said we could stay -- we could stay after the class and stay aside with the instructor. 

So we do that.  I did that, me.  I don't know about those other ones.  They're -- they have been out for school already.  And that's -- that's what happened to me.  I have to study extra.  Gee whiz, I couldn't even know what them big words, I didn't know what it is. 

And another very complicated one for me, very early, was an infant.  But after Dr. Johnson instructed us, then I learn how to divide what's in our head. 

MARLA:  Your brain? 

ROSE:  I mean, what's the matter with our --

MARLA:  Oh. 

ROSE:  What to look for in -- from, you know, upper part of our URI, and the chest and the abdomen.  I learned how to divide everything. 

MARLA:  Oh, okay.  I understand. 

ROSE:  Yeah. 

MARLA:  You were looking for specific issues in each parts of the body. 
ROSE:  Yeah. 

MARLA:  Uh-hum. 

ROSE:  At first I didn't do that.  I think I was holding the whole thing in one lump and I didn't know where -- where was where.  But for -- for me, Dr. Johnson is the one that opened my eyes.  Yeah.  For a long time, I think about it.  Goodness, that guy, he was expert.  Expert at teaching.