So today again we headed to the ER. We went as a group (4) because we were meeting with Dr. Ted Herbosa, a legend in the field of trauma in Southeast Asia. He has worked all over the world and done a lot of research. Most recently he worked as a trauma surgeon in Malaysia - he even was head flight surgeon for the Formula One races held there. He has worked at MCW and knows some of the faculty there too. He gave us a private 1:1 session and was pretty helpful at getting our minds back into medicine mode. He will be around the rest of our time here and has promised to help us out.
Otherwise we didn't do/see much in the ED since we were busy with Dr. Herbosa. There was an interesting DKA+Stroke pt with some good physical exam findings. That's one thing - here people wait FOREVER to come to the ED/hospital so their diseases are pretty advanced. Many people are able to see things that we'll never or rarely see in the US. The OB girls got a rude introduction to the Gyn Surgery - a woman needing a central line was subjected to opening her arm WITHOUT anesthesia to locate the vein under direct vision. In the US we would use Ultrasound guidance and would go through a neck vein.
Carol did nothing today on family medicine (her words!). She did, however have an interesting trip yesterday to the slums and we will be posting her description on here later.
We took off after lunch and I finally went to the pool, although there was not much sun out since our hotel blocks it and it was cloudy. But still, I was swimming in the pool this afternoon. We said goodbye to Dr. Kron, our course coordinator, who is heading back to the US tomorrow. He brought us some ripe Durian - a super SMELLY food that even Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel Bizarre Foods fame adamantly refuses to eat. No one was brave enough to try any and I'm pretty sure the hotel staff were kinda annoyed that we stunk up the lobby.
Afterward 5 of us went to the Hobbit House, a Manila landmark for 35 years. Anna, Carol, Shannon Megan and I walked down some dubious streets to get there and avoided ferral cats and beggars along the way. (We realized that we like the beggars on our street a lot better.) The place has a circular revolving door (ala J.R.R. Tolkien) and serves over 150 kinds of imported beers. While they had a terrific selection the prices were a little steep so I stuck with my Manilan San Miguel Pale Pilsner, a new favorite. We ordered some appetizers and enjoyed the service - all little people. A young woman totally depressed us by singing some favorite American songs (Kiss the Rain, Bobby MacGee etc) so we got a little homesick.
We walked through the mall on the way back (better lit, safer, no beggars) and were once again amazed at all the people in the mall on a Thursday night.
Tomorrow Shannon and I work the 3-11 shift. It should be filled with 1) lots of sick people 2) suicidals who don't have a Valentine's date (no joke) 3) blown up hands from people celebrating Chinese New Year with firecrackers 4) lots of stuff for us to do and 5) a LOT cooler than it is during the day. Let you know how that goes.....
Abi, that's pretty weak using Andrew Zimmern as an excuse not to eat that stuff :). I hope the night shift goes well and just remember that you would have a Valentine's Day date if I was there. Talk to you soon. Love you.
ReplyDeleteYou look disgustingly tan in that picture. I'll try tanning tomorrow - maybe the sun will reflect off the snow.
ReplyDeleteThe Hobbit House sounds like fun. Suicidal people and blown-up hands do not.