Spontanie Dauphin

April 2010

Dauphin Spontanie remembers how her confidence grew when she was seven and her mother left her to take care of her baby brother.  He was crying, and she bounced him, figured out how to make his milk and give him a bottle the way she had seen her mother do.  When he quieted down, she was very proud and she remembers this as a moment that gave her a sense that she could accomplish something if she tried.  And in fact, her friends describe her as courageous and determined.  She grew up near Port-au-Prince and learned a lot about medicine because her father was often sick.   Now when she encounters a sick person, she remembers the treatments she saw her father receiving at home and is able to provide advice.  But she wants to go to nursing school so that she will not have to improvise and will get proper medical training.  Dauphin’s dream is to train other nurses in medical law.  She knows there is more providers must do for patients then just prescribe medicines, and she wants to help nurses understand their rights and responsibilities vis-a-vis patients, families and other providers.