Today was our first day at our community health placements here in Inverness. A handful of us were with District Nurses, a couple with midwives, one with a health visitor, & one in the children’s ward at Raigmore Hospital. The community health system in the UK is very different from the US in that all care is free at the time of service, meaning that all community nurses who work under the NHS deliver the care at no charge to the patient, regardless of the times a week they visit, the supplies needed, and the time spent at the household.

After our time out in the community, we came back to prepare ourselves for the afternoon ahead with a quick nap. The rain tried to damper our afternoon, so we took a detour to Urquhart Castle to enjoy the view even though the castle was closed as it was after hours. From the castle, we took the scenic route around Loch Ness to arrive at the Dores Inn which sits on the shore of Loch Ness. Obviously, we needed a photo shoot when we got there, so we quickly took some pictures and escaped the chilly wind inside the Inn.

At the Inn we warmed up with a few beverages & headed back out to explore some more natural wonders on the edge of the Loch. About 10 miles down the road lies the Falls of Foyer, a beautiful system of waterfalls. As it was nearing dark, we could only follow one pathway to the waterfalls, so we chose to hike down 300 meters to the viewpoint to the Upper Falls. Another quick photoshoot & we were on our way back to base at Raigmore. Overall, we had a great day not only experiencing the community of Inverness through our clinical experiences but also the beautiful nature that surrounds it. IMG_0287IMG_0281IMG_0272IMG_0317

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