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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2002)
NOVEMBER 1, 2002 Smoke Signals 9 Syrian Nurses Visit Tribal Council and Health & Wellness Center O Health Care not as good in Syria, but available to all. By Ron Karten Members of the Tribal Council and the Tribe's Health & Wellness Center greeted five Syrian nurses and two translators on Friday, October 11. The nurses sought information to help them upgrade the nursing profession in Syria, according to Toufic Maged, one of the translators. "Nurses are not so respected in Syria," he said. The visit, arranged by Tribal Council Relations Coordinator Charles Haller II, included a "meet-and-greet" with members of the Tribal Council when both council members and the nurses asked and answered a range of questions everything from specifics about Tribal government to whether the nurses were married. On learning that one nurse was married and another was anticipat ing marriage on her return from this trip, translator Maged added, "and the ' Visitors On Tour - From left: State Department translator Toufic Maged, Syrian Ministry of Health teacher of trainers Ms. Al-Yamama Mahmoud Al-Hatba, Ms. Nima Juma Mousa, an adult nurse with the Al-Mujtahed Hospital in Damascus, Ms. Sahar Yousef, a teacher in the nursing school of the Syrian Directorate of Health, speaking is State Department translator Mucan Aljabiry, and Ms. Ruwaida Salman Salameh, deputy head of Nursing for the Syrian Directorate of Health take a tour of the Tribe's Health & Wellness building. others, no doubt, have many many seekers." Tribal Council Vice Chairman Reyn Leno provided the nurses with some back ground on the Tribe, including history and the Tribal governmental structure. Tribal Council member Ed Pearsall described the Tribal practice of funding education for Tribal members and surprised them when he replied to a question wondering if the Tribe required a period of service from the students after they graduated. Of course, the Tribe at- taches no strines to its support for individual education. f The nurses serve in public institu- v. tions in two Syrian cities the capi- " tal, Damascus, and the port city, v t r. lartous, and included a teacher ot trainers, an adult nurse, two teachers, and a deputy head of nursing. They said that there was no difference in f ' tVio miolitw nf VmoltVt noro fVnm nr ' - ban to rural areas, though a State Department spokeswoman wondered if they might have a different view if they worked in a rural area. While impressed with American facilities "they're quite ad vanced," one nurse said "however, we understand that you have to have medical insurance to take advantage of them." By contrast in Syria, the government owns all natural resources and is able to provide many services for free. Tribal Council Member Bob Haller asked about taxes in Syria. Taxes, the nurses said, are "insignificant." Medical schools and hospitals are not as sophisticated, but everybody is entitled to be treated without charge or with a "very minimal charge" at state-run facilities and universities. A small number of private facilities have sprung up in recent years, one said, and the quality of care there is "prob ably better" but private facilities charge for service. Tribal Council member Val Grout asked about schooling in Syria (everyone goes K-9; nurses earn a 3-year diploma equiva lent to a Bachelors' degree, and after graduation, they are as signed to the hospital closest to where they live) and life expect ancy (65-70). The nurses said that one of their goals for this trip was to find ways to improve nursing care. There is a lot of pressure on the system, one said, because care is free. "They want to improve the image of the profession by improving education," Maged said. Among the lessons the nurses will bring back to Syria, said Maged, "They need to have more practical training." They would like to see students have the opportunity to shadow professional nurses, and to institute the American "pass or fail" grading system instead of the percentage system used in Syria. "Either they know the subject or they don't," said Maged. Part of a two-week State Department-sponsored visit, the nurses included the Grand Ronde facility among a range of educational and health care facilities in Washington, D.C., New York, Detroit, Des Moines, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon. The State Department International Visitor Program, of which this was a part, is "apolitical" and sponsors some 5,000 visitors each year from most coun tries of the world, according to a department spokesman. B She Lets Her Fingers Do the Talking Tribal member Darci Warren balanced being a single mom with completing massage school. By Ron Karten As a single parent of two, Tribal member Darci Warren had to wait until her boys were old enough be fore she could go back to school. Now, they're 19 and 16 and War ren has just completed more than a year's worth of massage school cred its "got straight A's," she said at the Ashmead College of Massage in Vancouver, Washington. And she has more big educational ideas for the years ahead. With the help of the Tribe's Adult Vocational Training program, War ren was able to study Swedish and deep tissue massage techniques, as well as sports and clinical massage. "I feel we're all athletes to a point," Warren said, "and I love the heal ing aspect of massage." Warren uses the time when she's giving a massage to educate her cli ents on these healing aspects. She said that a good massage "lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation, decreases stress, increases relaxation," and also is a good tool for injury prevention. She works with people who have headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, and whiplash. She works with golfers regularly because the golf swing is so unnatural, "even if you are swinging right." Gardeners can often ben- ) fl X 7 Darci Warren efit from a massage, Warren said, because "they spend too much time bent over." Massage can also solve problems resulting from general stress at work. "85 percent of missed time at work is due to stress," she said. "Stress breaks down your immune system, which makes it easier for you to come down with things." If this sounds like just about everybody is due for the benefits of a War ren massage, the message is probably a result of Warren's natural entre preneurial bent. She has run a day-care business, a resume and business cards business (still going), and a house cleaning business, and has taken advantage of many opportunities to improve her skills. For example, she took advantage of a 12-week business class offered by the Tribe. "I like being able to work for myself," she said, "and set my own hours." She would like to get a hold of an old bus or van and put massage units in it. While she now travels to give massages on location, this addition will really give new meaning to her company name: "Massage on the Move." With a bad back herself, she said that she already is making plans for a time in the future when she may no longer have the strength for the physical exertion necessary to give massages. In the fall of 2003, she anticipates taking the prerequisites necessary for learning acupuncture at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. In addition, this October, she will enjoy a class in aroma therapy. For now, though, she is focusing on what she does best deep tissue massage. Does it hurt? "It's about a 3 on a 1-5 pain scale," she said, "with one being no pain at all and five being unbearable. I really believe that old saying, 'no pain, no gain,'" she said. Warren is the granddaughter of Tribal Elder Sylvia Fuller.
