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Tips and Times of a Peace Corps Medical Officer

Written by William Kennedy
Thursday, January 08, 2009.
For those who have survived the Mongolian winter so far, congratulations. But don’t pat yourself on the back just yet; winter promises to get much colder before it eases up sometime around May. If you’ve had trouble managing the cold or have newly arrived in the country, Lyn Stinnett, a Physician’s Assistant working with the Peace Corps, has a few friendly tips to make it through the next several months: invest in some cashmere, stay dry, and go for loose, rather than tight-fitting, long underwear. Stinnett, a Phoenix, Arizona native, has worked for Peace Corps in nearly 20 countries during 14 years of service. For a health-care provider, she said, Mongolia provides some unique challenges. “The weather here is the most remarkable thing,” she said. “And you have to get used to the distances.” About 2,000 miles separate the far-flung, 100-plus Peace Corps Volunteers working on projects across Mongolia. While volunteers come into Mongolia’s capital for a yearly check-up, Stinnett has to do most of her diagnoses over the phone. That, and routinely sub-zero temperatures, can make life rough for an ill PCV, especially those stationed in the far corners of Mongolia. “It’s one of the more challenging countries to volunteer,” Stinnett said. “Those who make their two years, you’ve got to hand it to them.” While local host families take charge of preparing PCVs for winter—especially those spending time in gers out in the countryside—Stinnett and her fellow Peace Corps Medical Officer Paul Wilson assess symptoms and offer advice or treatment on their maladies ranging from toothaches to broken bones. But much of Stinnett’s job involves reminding the volunteers she oversees to take good care of themselves. “We instill in them that they are responsible for their care,” she said. “We help them, but I can’t be their mother.” Keeping the PCVs healthy and safe, however, is Stinnett’s top priority. When something serious happens, her office ensures that the patient is stabilized at the nearest hospital or brought back to Ulaanbaatar by ambulance or even plane, depending on the state of the emergency. Having overseen an Arizona school district’s health for 11 years, Stinnett originally took the Peace Corps position for the adventure. “I have six children,” she said. When they had grown, “I thought it’s time Mom left home and had some fun for herself.” Her career has taken her from Tanzania, to the Ukraine, to Kiribati, a small Island in the Pacific where Peace Corps no longer has a presence. While the travel is exciting, plenty of the illnesses Stinnett sees are mundane. In Mongolia, it’s not the cold that PCVs complain about the most; it’s diarrhea. “They’re not used to the food—it’s so full of fat and meat,” she said. For this ailment, Stinett’s advice is to tough it out, unless it lasts for three or more days. “I don’t need to know about every case of diarrhea—it’s like sneezing,” she said. “[Everyone] goes through bouts of it and [eventually] they build up an immunity.” Stinnett’s two-year Mongolian tour ends later in 2009. “It’s not the worst country and it’s not the best I’ve been to,” she said, “but it’s been a lovely home.” Her plans for the future are currently undecided, but she will probably look for somewhere warmer. “I’m from Phoenix,” she said. “I don’t do winter.”