Dublin, Ireland: Daphne

Sadly the program is coming to an end. It's amazing how fast two weeks have gone by. On Friday, we had our last site visit. We visited Phoenix Care Center (PCC); a public sector mental health facility. With seeing this facility, we really had come full circle because at the beginning of the trip we saw a private sector center and now we had the chance to see a public sector center. It was interesting to see the differences in a public and a private facility. There were many things that were very similar and things that were different. They are similar in the fact that it is patients first, but they differ in their set ups. In St. Pats hospital, they had wings with all the beds together with only a few private rooms, but in PCC, all of the rooms we saw were private. They are similar in the fact that they have grounds that the service users can help maintain. They differ in the fact that St. Pats doesn’t use restraints at all, while PCC uses them only emergencies. Another way they di...

A lot has happened these past few days. On Tuesday, we came back to Dublin, and visited The Royal Hospital to see their physiotherapy units. The Royal Hospital is the oldest operating hospital in Ireland. Their patients all vary in needs and disability level, but they all need some sort of rehab therapy. We were able to tour their facilities and interact with not only the PT’s, but also the OT’s. It was a very different visit then what we had experienced, but it was great to see another one of Ireland's health care services. Wednesday was a crazy day. In addition to our scheduled programming of visiting with Dr. Emma Stokes, Associate Professor of the Department of Physiotherapy at Trinity, and going to see Riverdance at the Gaiety Theater,  the Duke and Dutchess of Sussex were on the campus of Trinity to see the Book of Kells. We were able to make it into the public viewing section of campus, so we were able to see them. Not only did we see them, but we got t...

On Monday, we got to visit the National University of Ireland Galway, School of Nursing and Midwifery. NUIG is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world, and their School of Nursing is in the top 100 programs in the world. We started out the day by getting an introduction to their programming and community engagement. In Ireland, you have to reach a certain amount of points to be accepted into a university, and you gain points for every letter grade you get, and more points can be earned if you are in a honors course. In addition to grades, you have to take a placement exam to determine what university you get into. For NUIG School of Nursing and Midwifery you can be placed into 3 different specialties; psych nursing, general nursing or midwifery, and each of these options require a certain number of points. In addition to learning about how they make it to the university, we learned about how the professors are involved in more then just teaching. Every professor has to be inv...

This weekend was free of programming, so we were free to explore! Yesterday, we started out by doing some shopping in Galway. They had an amazing little farm market. There were vegetables, fruits, street food, jewelry, and much more. There was this man making fresh doughnuts on the street, and they were the best that any of us have ever had! After the market, we went down Quay Street to do some souvenir shopping. We all got a lot of great stuff for family and friends back in the States. Once we were finished shopping, we walked down to Salthill, which is on the north side of Galway Bay. It was a beautiful walk right on the ocean. In Salthill there is a walking path called the Prom, and at the end of the Prom, you are supposed to kick the  wall for good luck. So we walked the entire length of the Prom and kicked the wall! We finished our night back on Quay Street for some good food and company. Today, we went to the Aran Islands. To get to the Islands, we had to take a shuttle...

We've made it to Galway! After an amazing visit to St. Patrick’s University Hospital on the fourth (where we were greeted with American flags!) and a visit to Trinity's School of Nursing and Midwifery, yesterday we made it to Galway. It was about a 3 hour drive from Dublin to Galway, and we got to see the rural parts of Ireland on our trip there. Once we got to Galway, we went for fish and chips at McDonagh's; one of the most famous fish and chips places in Galway. After dinner, we went to a pub that had a live band playing. They were very good, and made the atmosphere of the pub more cohesive and lively. One of my favorite things that we did last night was the walk back to where we are staying on the National University of Ireland Galway's campus. It was a beautiful night, right at sunset, and the walkway is right next to a river. Today we went to visit Jigsaw. Jigsaw is a youth mental health service for ages 15-25. There are 13 nationwide clinics, includi...

Campanile at Trinity College After a series of delays, I finally made it to Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. I got in Sunday July 1st around 12:30pm local time. It was a long night of traveling, but it has been so worth it! On Sunday, it was all very low key. We had a small orientation and then had dinner at Kennedy's, a local pub that is a favorite of students at Trinity. It was exactly as I imagined an Irish Pub to be: live music, Guinness, good food, and good company. After supper, the other girls and I went back to Trinity and slept a good 13 hours. This is exactly what we all needed after our crazy day of travel and excitement.                                                                            Monday was our first day of programming, and boy did we jump right in. We started wi...