Living the mission: medical assistance to Nigeria

In 2001, a team of health care providers from Tennessee undertook a medical mission to the Nigerian Christian Hospital in Aba, Nigeria. During A 10-day period, the surgical team applied US and AORN standards when possible, but found they also had to accept some of the local standards because of the lack of medical supplies, cleaning supplies, and properly functioning equipment in this impoverished area. The 60 surgeries performed by the team was a small number relative to the community's overwhelming needs, but the team members were rewarded with the knowledge that they had helped many patients by providing them with quality care that normally would have been unavailable.