Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I'm an Antiseptic Pouring Pro...

Yesterday was the start of a new clinical rotation, at Comite del Pueblo Centro de Salud No. 9. It’s a governmentally funded public clinic. Birth control is free, and pregnant women and children under 5 receive healthcare free of charge. I had to take 2 buses and a trolley to get there, took about an hour. A nice older man from the Spanish school met me in the morning and made sure I got there alright. They do that every week on the first day for all the students, to make sure we don’t wander around the city lost all day. It’s a little difficult to figure out directions here, the roads are all curvy and ill-marked.

Once at the clinic it was a little disappointing. I observed a few appointments, mostly women wanting birthcontrol, then the Doc took me downstairs to the emergency room and told me to wait there for him. So I helped out there for awhile: poured antiseptic and alcohol, held a little boy so stitches could be removed, and mainly observed while various injuries were cleaned and bandaged. There was a med student there who explained things to me and asked me to help out, which was very nice of her. Emergency rooms are interesting here. 3-4 beds per room, and people come in first come first serve. If a person needs anything besides a tongue depressor or antiseptic for their treatment (like gauze, ointments, antibiotics, syringes, etc.) a family member has to go to the nearby pharmacy and buy whatever is needed. Pretty cool to see. If you don’t have family here, I think you’d really be in trouble at the hospital. The doctors there were more careful than in La Maternidad about keeping their hands clean. They washed them pretty well between each patient.

After about an hour and a half the doc showed back up and told me to go home for the day. It was 10:30….wasn’t supposed to be done til 12:00. So overall, not a great impression. I think he just wasn’t very interested in having students there, maybe just doing it for the money (the preceptors are paid by the program for their time). Hopefully it will be better tomorrow!

I’m staying home sick today. Fighting off some kind of gastrointestinal issues, figured it would be good to just take it easy and not surround myself with sick people for a day. I had some chamomile tea, and I think it did actually help my stomach a little. It’s really no fun to be sick when you’re traveling! But the big triumph of today...I finally figured out how to take a hot shower! Only took a week and a half! I'm pretty proud of myself.

New Word of the Day: chevere (cool)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Feel better! Donnie and I would send you a beautiful floral arrangement from class if we could!

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Yummy!

Yummy!
Here´s the larva I ate. These were the steamed version, which wasn´t my favorite. The bear is just there for style.

My piranha.

My piranha.
This is the flesh eating fish I caught and ate. It´s a vicious circle all right.

I just really like this picture.

I just really like this picture.
There was just this one random red lead in this plant, and it looked so cool!

El Pene del Diablo

El Pene del Diablo
Here it is (I know you were all curious), the Devil´s Penis root. Enough said.

My Jungle Pants.

My Jungle Pants.
This is my super awesome jungle hiking outfit. Rubber boots, striped blue hippy pants, and yellow floral tshirt. I felt kind of at home trudging around in those boots.

The Cocodilo!

The Cocodilo!
This is one of the crocodiles/alligators (we´re not quite sure which one it is, there is some confusion...) we saw from our canoe.

Our Cabin.

Our Cabin.
Here´s our cabana in the jungle. It was all divided up into little rooms, kind of cute. In a bug infested way.

The jungle.

The jungle.
Here´s the view from our canoe on the ride across the lake to our camp. It was so gorgeous!!

I have an arrow on my head.

I have an arrow on my head.
This is me being painted by the shaman before our jungle hike. The ¨paint¨ was from the little green fruits in his hand.

Interviewing!

Interviewing!
Here´s me doing my thing at Cochapamba. It´s pretty exciting, I know...

Me and my sweet helmet.

Me and my sweet helmet.
I felt so sexy in this bike helmet. Seriously.

In Baños

In Baños
This is the view from my bikeride in Baños this weekend. Isn´t it just gorgeous? Best bike ride ever.

Hip Dysplasia Check

Hip Dysplasia Check
This is Olguita doing a hip dysplasia check on a little boy.

Cutey Pie!

Cutey Pie!
This is my little amigo at CEMOPLAF. We played with blocks. It was a good time. In this pic he´s being weighed.

Chivas!

Chivas!
Here is some of the girl on the Chivas Bus. The drink Melissa is holding in the front is an alcoholic beverage that tastes like cinnamon. Yummy.

Rickety ladder of death.

Rickety ladder of death.
This in mi amiga Anu climbing the rickety ladder of death to the top of the Basilica.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Oh. My. Gosh.
These are the deserts we had at Crepes and Waffles. SOOOOOO delicious. Mine was the carmally one right in the front. That´s right, I know you´re jealous.

On the Ecuator

On the Ecuator
Here I am on the ecuator, the mitad del mundo. Woohoo!

Ahoy maties!

Ahoy maties!
These are the whales we saw from the boat to Isla de la Plata! I have no idea what kind they are! I must do more research and get back to you! But they were so cool!

Yes, I know I have crazy hair...

Yes, I know I have crazy hair...
This is me on the island. It was windy, okay? Geesh, some people. By the way, there´s a legend that the island has buried treasure somewhere. I didn´t find it. Sad day.

Boobies!

Boobies!
These are the famous blue footed boobies. They were pretty funny to watch, they really waddle! So many boobies in such a short time...

More boobies!

More boobies!
This is a different species of boobie. No blue feet. I think it´s called that Nazka Boobie in English, which so isn´t as fun as blue footed boobie. Maybe orange pointed boobie? Just a suggestion.

The Shaman

The Shaman
Here is the shaman doing her thing with the cuy. Sorry I´m in my bra for you all to see, couldn´t be helped. And its a nice bra.

Shaman Take 2

Shaman Take 2
Same idea, just from the back. She was really shaking the cuy all over! And doesn´t she have a really cool bracelet?

The Diagnosis

The Diagnosis
This is the shaman cutting open the dead cuy to read its body. I was kind of amazed that she just squatted down on the floor, didn´t even use a table. She´s got mad skills. Oh, and since it was a health center, she put everything into little red biohazard bags.

Pouring the Antiseptic

Pouring the Antiseptic
Oh yeah, me in my prime. This was for one of those ladies with a leg ulcer. She was very cute. I know you can´t tell from that part of her foot in the picture, but you´ll have to take my word for it.

Meeting the Minister

Meeting the Minister
This is me and my fellow student Carrie with the Minister of Health at a public health center. How cool is that? We´re practically celebrities.

The Hat!

The Hat!
This is my sweet new indigenous style hat, bought it in the Otavalo market. Also bought the scarf and filled up that bag...it was a good shopping day!

The Market

The Market
This doesn't do the market justice, there are so many people and colors!

El Grupo

El Grupo
All the students at a hill overlooking the city

My Artistic Endeavor

My Artistic Endeavor
Took this from the window while the taxi driver was stuck but still trying. Oh taxi drivers....

View of the City

View of the City
This place is huge! Seriously. And very long. With pretty mountains.

La Virgen

La Virgen
She´s supposed to protect Quito from the apocalypse. Quite the lady.