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Those docs there may not have been ER docs before, but they need to and will adjust,
Your comments are dead on, but I thought this first one was interesting. They always have at least one real ER doc on staff. The rest of them are usually GP/Family Practice doctors. Right now I'm not sure, but there are probably two ER doctors in Barrow.
I happen have just served 3 months sitting on a grand jury. Of course all violent crimes end up before the grand jury, and usually that involves testimony by at least a doctor and probably a nurse too. In three months I saw just about exactly one handful of cases involving violence that took someone to an ER (and half of those were from other villages, not Barrow). Five cases in 90 days isn't exactly the continuous stream that was claimed!
ER doctors are always interesting people. The last one I met struck me initially as "This has got to be one of the strangest looking ladies I've ever met!" She didn't fit any mold you'll find around here! Of course... she had about a dozen years experience working ER in major trauma centers, and was just sharp as a tack! (Example: DA says, "Does this picture fairly represent what Mr. xxxx looked like when he was brought into the ER?" Doctor: "NO!" Long pause. Doctor: "That's what he looked like after I spent an hour and half patching him up!" The pride of accomplishment was rather obvious in the tone of voice.)
...I am sure there is more than this constant 24-hour influx of drunks, violence and abuse...or all would be gone, Barrow is not that big... I am sure you have seen heartache that any of us would feel, but to generalize and to portray this hospital as that is all that exists, you have not been fair to your profession, the people that will stay for a while, or the new coming in.....
I was told during my days working in the ER to remember that we only saw the sickest 10% of the population, the worst case scenarios. People can get jaded in that work because they don't have contact with the other 90% of the folks in town. Again - I worked with non-ER certified docs, saw man's abuse against man, abuse of the system, ad nauseaum.....before I ever left the lower 48. So, it must not be limited to this state .
I have spent some time in Barrow, and there is alcohol abuse and kids huffing gas, etc, etc. Unlike 4th Ave in Anchorage, I don't see people lying on the street. There are kids doing drugs on every level and in every city or rural area of America.
It's a sign of the times. It may be that it seems more prevalent in Bush Alaska because it is such a small community, and you see them more closely than you would in a city.
My biggest concern with Bush Alaska is not the drug or alcohol abuse. It is the suicide rate. Double the national average, and so unnecessary.
Floyd obviously who have been in Barrow a long time. You are either an Inupiaq or married into the culture. Thera are alot of warm and friendly people I know here. But you have to admit there is a serious problem with a large percentage of the eskimo population when it comes to excessive drinking, child abandonment, sexual abuse and assault. If you can't admit that, check the Police call sheet for the week the ASRC checks were handed out, or any other week. Yes at the hospital, there are 24/7 cases of drunkeness, assault, abuse, and most every week children born and giving up for adoption or abandoned. It is not the whole town, but it is a serious problem. Call Health and Social services in a midwest town of 4500 and see what their STD rate is. They also probably don't have an orphange, not that they don't care, just that there is not the abandonment issue there is here. There are a great number of kids in the schools that get straight A's, so is it selective teaching, or selective learning, that causes the great dropout rate? My point about the sport teams is that it is they are not all eskimo my any means, like you made out. Yes there are locals who have held jobs for years, there are also employers that have gone through 20 employees in a year for one position, all native hire and paying $20+ an hour. As far as the people giving comments from Bethel, Wasilla, Kenai, or Anchorage, that's where you are, not here!! So have a big cup of shut up, or come up here and see for yourself!
Floyd obviously who have been in Barrow a long time. You are either an Inupiaq or married into the culture.
I am neither. And your assumption there is racist too!
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Thera are alot of warm and friendly people I know here. But you have to admit there is a serious problem with a large percentage of the eskimo population when it comes to excessive drinking, child abandonment, sexual abuse and assault.
Stuff the racist crap you idiot. That's clueless claptrap.
I've been living in rural Alaska for 4 decades, and I've seen all of that in all different cultures. It isn't any more, or any less, in the Eskimo cultures than it is in White culture.
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If you can't admit that, check the Police call sheet for the week the ASRC checks were handed out, or any other week. Yes at the hospital, there are 24/7 cases of drunkeness, assault, abuse, and most every week children born and giving up for adoption or abandoned.
I've seen police call sheets, I know about ambulance runs, etc etc. You are fabricating false statistics.
For one thing you have to realize that there are three times as many Inupiat living here as there are Whites. Next you also need to realize that virtually any outsider who loses their job necessarily leaves. When they have problems, they have problems elsewhere. The only permanent full time resident people in Barrow that can be indigent are Inupiat, and therefore all of the social ills that go along with being down and out appear to be more numerous in that one group. But in fact it is a distortion of the data, and not a valid interpretation.
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It is not the whole town, but it is a serious problem.
A lot of us here believe that people like you are a serious problem too, simply because your race bias makes the rest of us look bad.
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Call Health and Social services in a midwest town of 4500 and see what their STD rate is. They also probably don't have an orphange, not that they don't care, just that there is not the abandonment issue there is here. There are a great number of kids in the schools that get straight A's, so is it selective teaching, or selective learning, that causes the great dropout rate?
Such abject willful ignorance of society is amazing.
They don't have an orphange (and actually neither do we, though we do have a place where children can be under the protection of the State) because they simple don't care. People here do care, and there is not an "abandonment issue" here.
As to the school system, it has been studied by people who actually do know what they are looking at, so don't try to make up your own concepts and pass them off as useful. We have an education system that is culture centric, and we have no intent to adjust it for non-Western ways of thinking. Some do well, others don't. And because Native cultures do not do well, and we don't care about Natives in this state, we make no effort whatever to fix it. That is not Barrow, that is the policy of the State of Alaska.
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My point about the sport teams is that it is they are not all eskimo my any means, like you made out.
I made no such claim. I simply stated that the community here does care about children and education. The population makes a great effort, even though it commonly puts us at odds with the State of Alaska. I cannot say that the School Administration (or the School Board, which happens to be mostly Inupiat) is willing to make the adjustments that need to be put into effect.
If you want to read up on it, look up some of the studies done by Diane Hirshberg who is with the Institute of Social and Economic Research at UAA.
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Yes there are locals who have held jobs for years, there are also employers that have gone through 20 employees in a year for one position, all native hire and paying $20+ an hour.
Your understanding of the culture here seems to be at a very low level. Do you really think everyone has to be just like you? Heaven help us all...
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As far as the people giving comments from Bethel, Wasilla, Kenai, or Anchorage, that's where you are, not here!! So have a big cup of shut up, or come up here and see for yourself!
Some of them seem to know a great deal more than you!
I am going up with Platinum Select Staffing. They've been very good to work for. Providence is also good and you get small company treatment with both of them. Good luck
i'm starting travel nursing this June and my wife and I (along with our 6 year old) are really considering Alaska. my main concern is finding a trustworthy company who will put us up in a nice and safe place for my family.
if anyone wants to post or email me their positive experience with traveling to Alaska, please do!! my email is xmann1102@cox.net
It looks like this is an old post, but I will try and hopefully someone is still looking in here that is local that can help to shed light on this. I am looking to visit Barrow for a 3 month travel nursing assingnment but am looking for some key simple information.
1. What are the months of dark VS light?
2. Can I catch the Aurora Borealis there, and if so, what is the best time of year for it?
3. I'm assuming it is cold, very cold. How do travelers get around? To and from work, to the grocery, library, daily stuff. What would you think would be the 5 key items to bring if I came up? I do not believe my car will make it up there. It slides around in what little snow we have in Ohio. I will probably have to fly up.
4. Is there internet access? I want to still keep in touch with family.
5. How is housing for travel nurses? I have traveled off and on for 20+ years and have seen some pretty rotten housing. I even had to stay in a hospital room for one assignment and stand in line with patients for the shower at the end of the hall.
I appreciate any and all information I can get. Thank you in advance.
It looks like this is an old post, but I will try and hopefully someone is still looking in here that is local that can help to shed light on this. I am looking to visit Barrow for a 3 month travel nursing assingnment but am looking for some key simple information.
1. What are the months of dark VS light?
Well, there are the solstices in summer and winter (June 21 and December 21), and the equinoxes at midway between them (March 20 and September 22). Those dates mark significant dates. But a few others are important too... The sun stops going down on May 10th and sets again on August 2nd. The sun stops coming up on November 18th and rises again on something like January 23rd (??). On December 21st, the shortest day of the year, we get about three hours of civil twilight. During that time you can see well enough to read a book outside, and it would be possible to drive without lights on but that would be pretty dumb.
One warning! Everybody worries about how to deal with it being dark all the time. But what gets to people is when it is light all the time. Really.
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2. Can I catch the Aurora Borealis there, and if so, what is the best time of year for it?
September/October is good, but it is usually cloudy. February/March is good, but in addition to being cloudy it's cold and windy. :-)
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3. I'm assuming it is cold, very cold. How do travelers get around? To and from work, to the grocery, library, daily stuff. What would you think would be the 5 key items to bring if I came up? I do not believe my car will make it up there. It slides around in what little snow we have in Ohio. I will probably have to fly up.
Nahhh. It's cold down in Fairbanks. We have pretty mild winters here! It's just that the average temperature is colder than anywhere else. But we are almost never the coldest place in Alaska in the winter. Not that the weather here isn't harsh though! The average wind speed is about 12 mph.
Most of the hospital people never go anywhere except the post office and one grocery store. They take a cab, at $5 a ride.
Don't even think about shipping your car here ($4000+).
Bring whatever it is you have that makes you happy! Your clothes, cameras, and whatever other toys or tools make life fun. Keep in mind that 4000 people live here and have everything they need. It may take a bit to adjust, but you will.
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4. Is there internet access? I want to still keep in touch with family.
Yep. Two different providers. Both are what you will think is slow and expensive, but it's good enough.
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5. How is housing for travel nurses? I have traveled off and on for 20+ years and have seen some pretty rotten housing. I even had to stay in a hospital room for one assignment and stand in line with patients for the shower at the end of the hall.
I don't really know much in the way of details. They have a number of options, and I've never heard any serious complaints. The two or three people I've visited were certainly in nice apartments.
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I appreciate any and all information I can get. Thank you in advance.
The key to Alaska in general and Barrow in particular, is just exactly how adventurous are you? The more, the better. Barrow is an all day adventure every day. Why, a couple days ago I was talking to a friend on the phone, when he says rather calmly that he might have to evacuate his house in a minute or two... Seems the fuel truck that take Aviation Gas to the runway had just slide off the road and knocked over a power pole, which was dangling hot power lines over the truck. He took a lot of neat pictures from a second story window, but never did evacuate.
Kotzebue is the place for remote nursing in my opinion. As well as a comprehensive health center run by the Maniilaq Association, there is flight to remote villages and transport to Anchorage. If you go with an open mind and a sense of adventure you will be welcomed. When I lived there, maybe a handful of people said something to me but I always felt appreciated. The culture is engaging without being intrusive. Kotz is a fun place to live.
Working in Anchorage you have several choices. Providence Medical Center, Alaska Regional and the Native American Medical Center. All provide care for the sickest people from ER to ICU. Providence and Regional do the cardiac surgeries. Native is a magnet hospital. All hospitals offer strengths and weeknessess. If you know your area, talk with others about them. In any case my year in Kotz was remarkable. You win when you take risks............good luck =)
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