We Call You ‘Wheat Head’ – An Unexpected Crosscultural Encounter

I entered the wall-less, thatch-roofed waiting area of the clinic with my right hand in a ball of bandages, taped to my chest. The airy space was almost empty, without nurses or even a receptionist. The only other person in the little space, sitting very elegantly on one of the narrow wooden benches, was a woman in traditional West African dress who was quite pregnant.

NovemberReflectionsThe November Reflections essay in AJN is called “Surprise!” Its opening paragraph is above. This is one of our occasional Reflections essays by a writer who is not a nurse. In this case, the author Thomas Turman’s easy, self-deprecating tone, and the matter-of-fact manner in which his unexpected patient faces a situation that might induce a certain panic in many people from wealthier countries, feels just right. […]