Hi everyone!
It's been a while since I've posted, and I'm LONG overdue for a post about what I've been doing at the hospital. Lucky for you, I'm planning on writing two posts today...one about the weekend and my day at the hospital today, and one about the week I spent with the Gynecology Dept. The notes I took last week are currently in our hotel room, which I am currently locked out of (Thanks Alexis and Jen! JK), so look for that one a little bit later tonight :-)
So we all had an very exciting Friday night of watching a Twilight double feature on TV and ordering room service! Like Alexis mentioned, we get pretty geeked up when American movies are playing on the TV...even though they tend to censor a lot of the best parts of every movie...
On Saturday, Rasika headed to Chennai to visit her uncle, Alexis spent the day in bed rewatching Twilight (she's feeling under the weather), and the rest of us went on shopping sprees across Vellore. Jen, Sarah, Shivani and I headed to the fabric/sari store to check out the South Indian style saris for sale. The fabrics were AMAZING! While we were looking for a bookstore, we stumbled across a super cool local market where lots of people were selling fruit (mangos and jackfruit) and veggies and assorted household items. One alleyway off the main strip was home to an amazing flower market with lots of locals buying jasmine and lilys to give as offerings when they went to the temple on Sunday. The flower sellers loved the "American girls" and gifted us with some flowers to wear in our hair. Yinan got the best deals of the day with two pairs of shoes and a boxful of bangle bracelets. She is totally the queen of bargaining, but we already knew this from watching her do her thing at the Jan Path market in Delhi.
I was asked yesterday by my wonderful boyfriend Eoghan what the nightlife in Vellore is like. Well, there really isn't much! Besides, when the temperature low for the day is 83 F, staying in the A/C hotel sounds wayyyy better. Which explains why we all spent Saturday night in Vellore camped in front of the TV watching "He's Just Not That Into You", gossiping, and ordering room service again! Had some issues ordering Sweet and Sour Chicken (just ask Jen!), but it was really delish.
On Sunday, Jen, Yinan, Sarah and I headed to Vellore Fort in the center of town to check it out. Really sticky and humid weather, so we didn't last long there. Lots of cricket matches going on inside the fort, and we checked out a temple that was on site too (can't spell the name haha). Shivani headed over to the Vellore Institute of Technology to meet up with some old family friends. At night we started trying to plan our upcoming weekend, which we hope will include visits to a backpacker beach town called Mamallapuram and the somewhat big city Chennai. :-)
Today, all of us started new postings at the hospital. I am posted in Child's Health II, a pediatric unit with a special focus on rheumatology and nephrology. The first part of the day included a case discussion with one of the residents (they call them post-grads in India) about a little boy with LCH, which stands for Langerhan's Cell Histiocytosis. It's basically an immunosuppressive disease, with a characteristic three symptom triad of diabetes insipidus, exopthalmos (protruding eyeballs), and lytic (holey) bone lesions. It sounds like its really rare, and when I just Wikipedia-ed it, I found out it was featured on an episode of House!
After that we had rounds on the Pediatric unit with all of the attendings, residents, and interns. After lunch, we followed up all of the cases we saw on rounds with a radiology conference, which totally tied it all together for me! I was kind of lost up until that point, no matter how many questions I asked. It was cool because a lot of the cases related well to the stuff we just covered at the end of our first year of med school (Genetics and Neuroscience).
One case was a 7 year old little girl who had been experiencing a lot of back pain (she won't sit up or walk any more)and had high blood calcium levels. Turns out she had hyperparathyroidism. On X-Ray you could see very obvious bone loss in many bones, and there was characteristic "scalloping" of her distalmost finger bone that gave it away for the radiologist. One of the attendings told me that the treatment is to remove 2 or 3 of the 4 parathyroid glands in the body.
The second case was a little 3 year old boy with severe hydrocephalus ("water on the brain"). For our med school friends reading this, the ventricles were HUGE in horizontal cross sections (you know you miss Rafols' Atlas!). The neurosurgeons had put in a shunt previously to relieve the pressure and drain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but it didn't work. The radiologists found a malformation in one of the veins in the brain that collects and drains CSF (Galen's vein) and believe that to be the cause. Alternatively, the pediatricians think it may be a complication of tuberculosis, even though the patient's parents said he hadn't been exposed to TB. On the MRI you could see that his brain had begun to atrophy and there were mineralized regions, so he will never be able to fully recover from the disease. The doctors had to have the difficult discussion of whether or not to consult the neurosurgeons, since very often in India, the financial aspect of medicine must be balanced with potential outcomes.
We also talked about a severe case of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) with an accompanying hematoma, as well as a child with hypophosphatasia. I don't know what that means (yet), but maybe I will next year when I'm a second year.
All in all, it was a really good day at the CMC :-)
Thanks for reading this super long post, and look for another from me later tonight!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Shoes, crickets and of course...babies!
So I have had quite an interesting week, inside and outside of CMC! On Tuesday after a day spent in the MICU (mentioned by Yinan below, I attached a pic of a typical bed here), Yinan, Sarah and I ventured to CMC Main campus. We had a few errands to run, met up with our new Canadian friend and discovered the very well-stocked Campus Store! They have EVERYTHING- monkeys (outside, and they do NOT like to have their pictures taken!), oreos, shampoo, noodles, and lucky for me, a way to finally re-fill my cell phone!
On our way out, we decided to catch the bus back to our place (only 3 rps, a steal!). Unfortunately for the three of us, my shoes were not ready to leave. When I stepped on the bus, one of my shoes stayed behind and the bus took off!!!! After a bit of arguing with the bus driver, they finally stopped for us to get off. Then the hobbling began. As Yinan ran back to try and find my shoe, I walked back (at this point, only wearing one shoe!) with Sarah to the bus stand where we had to wait and catch the bus once again. Luckily the CMC Security guard saved my shoe behind the guard booth and Yinan got it for me and all was well. Embarrassing moment #1.
On Wednesday night after another day in the MICU (where we saw a person who was bitten by a poisonous snake causing paralysis), we met with other CMC International students at the rooftop restaurant at our hotel (the other students claim it has the best food in the whole city). It was a great time minus the moment when a cricket landed on my shoulder. Sarah casually mentioned to Jen (sitting next to me) that there was something on my shoulder. Jen reacted, and ran away from me! Which of course, startled me and I ran screaming the other way looking frantically around for the bug since no one would tell me exactly where it was! Finally, Norman (one of the students from Singapore) yelled that it was on my bag strap and I threw it on the ground. It landed with the cricket still sitting on it. Embarrassing moment #2!
Yesterday (thursday) and today I moved from the MICU to OB-Gyn/Labor and delivery. I was assigned with a great team, which was actually expecting me! Everyone knew I was the elective student and they all showed me where to go! I was lucky and in addition to Dr. Kishore in the MICU (ultrasound guru), I met Dr. Santosh who is another great teacher (and quizzer! I guess I should get used to being put on the spot!). After watching 2 surgeries (laproscopic tubal ligation and a vault prolapse repair) I ventured over to labor and delivery and found alexis. Babies... everywhere! Dr. Krupa was great, asking us questions and explaining so much about why things are done they way they are in their ward.
Today I was assigned with Dr. Santosh again and was in the out-patient clinic, after first making fun of me for taking notes (so I could share stories with all of the girls later, of course), he taught me so much about the health system in India, barriers to care, how they have to diagnose and treat completely depending on the funds and resources available... not a common thought in the US. It was exactly the type of information I have been waiting to hear all week, the public health side of medicine in India. Hopefully I can find out more next week while at the rural clinics.
Enjoy the pics attached: a shopping area called Gandhi Rd, view from the rooftop restaurant, a typical "to-go" canteen lunch (sambhar rice and chips), the MICU and a map of the hospital campus.
Shivani
FRIDAY!
Hello all,
So it's finally the end of our first week, and I think I speak for all of us when I say I am absolutely exhausted. We are not used to being on our feet all day, nor are we used to being on our feet all day in the heat. This is definitely a good taste of what rotations will be like in our third and fourth year of med school, and it makes me grateful that we still have one more year of classroom-style learning (I'll probably want to take that statement back once second year starts....).
I am blogging on my lunch break...I was on OB/GYN all morning (again). Today is my last day of SCHEDULED OB/GYN, but I have a feeling I will go back everyday I am here for at least a couple of hours every afternoon. I have learned SO much already about life in labor and delivery, and I don't want to leave my friends there! I have become close with a couple of the interns as well as one of the attendings, Dr. Kruipa. She is 26 but already at the top of the food chain! This is because they do not go to undergrad and get a bachelors degree, students just go immediately into medical school which lasts 5.5 years, with the last year being their "intern" year. For us, our intern year comes AFTER we get our M.D., so it's slightly different. The interns here, however, do EVERYTHING - they deliver most of the babies and stitch up all of the episiotomies and just take care of checking on all the patients. The attendings oversee everything, but they don't have to get their hands too dirty unless there is an emergency. Speaking of getting your hands dirty, let me just say I have never seen so much blood in all my life...after the delivery, women lose SO much blood! And it keeps coming well after the delivery. I can't remember the exact amount, but I know pregnant women have a very large blood volume, I just had no clue it was THAT much additional blood to the point where they lose over a liter during childbirth and are still fine after! Sorry if that's TMI....
This weekend we are opting to stick around Vellore and see what there is to do in this area. We are planning to watch Twilight (1 AND 2) tonight because they said last night on TV that they would be showing them back to back tonight...we are also planning on ordering in ice cream from room service....HOW EXCITING! It's really funny because whenever an American show is on we get super excited. Yinan and Rasika have become faithful Dexter watchers every night at 10 p.m., and Sarah, Shivani and Caitlyn have been loving watching American movies on HBO. Jen and I only recently plugged in our TV, and we prefer watching Indian MTV - Indian music videos are, in a word, hilarious. We just lay there and crack up the entire song, none of which we can understand, but their costumes and dances are definitely very different from American-style music videos. Tomorrow, some of our Singapore friends are going to what is called a "hill station" - it is basically an area higher up in the mountains where it is cooler, and super pretty! I am going to email one of the girls about it, but we may also choose to do something a little bit closer (they are going to a hill station two hours away). I would love to find a hiking trail and go up in the mountains, so I am going to ask around today aobut that. And on Sunday, as Jen said, we are going to try and see the new Pirates movie....should be interesting to see what movie theaters are like in India!
Time to get back to my babies! Hope the weather is nice back home....
Alexis
So it's finally the end of our first week, and I think I speak for all of us when I say I am absolutely exhausted. We are not used to being on our feet all day, nor are we used to being on our feet all day in the heat. This is definitely a good taste of what rotations will be like in our third and fourth year of med school, and it makes me grateful that we still have one more year of classroom-style learning (I'll probably want to take that statement back once second year starts....).
I am blogging on my lunch break...I was on OB/GYN all morning (again). Today is my last day of SCHEDULED OB/GYN, but I have a feeling I will go back everyday I am here for at least a couple of hours every afternoon. I have learned SO much already about life in labor and delivery, and I don't want to leave my friends there! I have become close with a couple of the interns as well as one of the attendings, Dr. Kruipa. She is 26 but already at the top of the food chain! This is because they do not go to undergrad and get a bachelors degree, students just go immediately into medical school which lasts 5.5 years, with the last year being their "intern" year. For us, our intern year comes AFTER we get our M.D., so it's slightly different. The interns here, however, do EVERYTHING - they deliver most of the babies and stitch up all of the episiotomies and just take care of checking on all the patients. The attendings oversee everything, but they don't have to get their hands too dirty unless there is an emergency. Speaking of getting your hands dirty, let me just say I have never seen so much blood in all my life...after the delivery, women lose SO much blood! And it keeps coming well after the delivery. I can't remember the exact amount, but I know pregnant women have a very large blood volume, I just had no clue it was THAT much additional blood to the point where they lose over a liter during childbirth and are still fine after! Sorry if that's TMI....
This weekend we are opting to stick around Vellore and see what there is to do in this area. We are planning to watch Twilight (1 AND 2) tonight because they said last night on TV that they would be showing them back to back tonight...we are also planning on ordering in ice cream from room service....HOW EXCITING! It's really funny because whenever an American show is on we get super excited. Yinan and Rasika have become faithful Dexter watchers every night at 10 p.m., and Sarah, Shivani and Caitlyn have been loving watching American movies on HBO. Jen and I only recently plugged in our TV, and we prefer watching Indian MTV - Indian music videos are, in a word, hilarious. We just lay there and crack up the entire song, none of which we can understand, but their costumes and dances are definitely very different from American-style music videos. Tomorrow, some of our Singapore friends are going to what is called a "hill station" - it is basically an area higher up in the mountains where it is cooler, and super pretty! I am going to email one of the girls about it, but we may also choose to do something a little bit closer (they are going to a hill station two hours away). I would love to find a hiking trail and go up in the mountains, so I am going to ask around today aobut that. And on Sunday, as Jen said, we are going to try and see the new Pirates movie....should be interesting to see what movie theaters are like in India!
Time to get back to my babies! Hope the weather is nice back home....
Alexis
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
CMC Vellore = Crazitown!
Hello all,
And by crazitown I mean CRAZY but in good way! With in the first 3 days we have all experienced and seen aspects of health care that are not witnessed in the U.S. So far the trip has been so rewarding and we aren't even half way done.
Along with Sarah and Alexis I have also been on the obstetrics delivery and labor ward. In a half hour 3 babies can be born in one room! It is absolutely nuts. The second day, I scrubbed into my first surgery, a c-section, the high risk ward (scrubbed and washed 3x). The O.R. was NOT air conditioned so on top of my scrubs I had a plastic apron and a long sleeve sterile green floor length jacket, let me tell you, it was hot. But I got to participate in my first surgery and "get my hands dirty" literally. It was awesome. Here is the picture of Alexis and I in our very large scrubs going into our second c-section.
Yesterday, I was in the low risk ward and with in the morning at least 10-15 babies were born, if not more. The ward is crazy busy but very interesting. The new borns are adorable, we learned about the vaccines given in India and how the neonatologist looks for fetal anomalies.
And by crazitown I mean CRAZY but in good way! With in the first 3 days we have all experienced and seen aspects of health care that are not witnessed in the U.S. So far the trip has been so rewarding and we aren't even half way done.
Along with Sarah and Alexis I have also been on the obstetrics delivery and labor ward. In a half hour 3 babies can be born in one room! It is absolutely nuts. The second day, I scrubbed into my first surgery, a c-section, the high risk ward (scrubbed and washed 3x). The O.R. was NOT air conditioned so on top of my scrubs I had a plastic apron and a long sleeve sterile green floor length jacket, let me tell you, it was hot. But I got to participate in my first surgery and "get my hands dirty" literally. It was awesome. Here is the picture of Alexis and I in our very large scrubs going into our second c-section.
Yesterday, I was in the low risk ward and with in the morning at least 10-15 babies were born, if not more. The ward is crazy busy but very interesting. The new borns are adorable, we learned about the vaccines given in India and how the neonatologist looks for fetal anomalies.
Today, I followed a doctor in the MICU (medical intensive care unit) and this ward is very similar the the U.S. Yet, the patient diseases are not. I saw a severe case of malaria and cellulitis to name a few. Dr. Kishore is the attending in the MICU and I'm thinking about contacting Wayne State to hire him as a teacher. He's awesome.
Alright now for more of the fun stuff:
Last night was international night at the roof top restaurant of our hotel. There was about 20 of us from all over world: Singapore, U.S., and Canada. The restaurant was BEAUTIFUL and we could oversee almost all of Vellore. When it got dark we could see a gold dust cloud in the distance coming from the Golden Temple! All of us students shared the food, our different stories from volunteering, similarities and differences between our cultures and educations.
Today I did some research and found the new pirates movie is playing in a nearby theater and I am so excited to see it! I hope it is playing in english....
Ok thats all for now, talk to you all later!!
Jennife/Jen
p.s. the MICU is air conditioned and thats where I will be again tomorrow, CLUTCH
I love OB/GYN!
Hello faithful blog followers,
Our third day at the hospital is complete, and I cannot begin to express how much I have already learned!! I have been in the O.G. (obstetrics and gynecology) portion of the hospital for the last three days and I absolutely LOVE it. I knew I was interested in OB/GYN before coming to India, but this experience has confirmed that feeling times a million! Since Monday, I have seen multiple C-sections, vaginal deliveries, ante-natal checkups, and I have gone on rounds in the wards with high-risk pregnant or post-labor patients.
My first day (Monday), I was on the high-risk labor and delivery ward and immediately scrubbed in to watch a C-section. It's amazing how quickly the doctors and nurses can access the uterus and pull the baby out. While watching, I realized I haven't actually forgotten EVERYTHING from anatomy - you see the doctors cut through Scarpa's fascia, pull apart the rectus abdominus (no cutting of the abdominal muscles, entirely manual in nature...literally just stick their fingers in the linea alba and tear the two sides apart!), then the uterus is sitting right there! It's a very simple, concise procedure. I held the babies after both C-sections (my mom and Bridge know how happy that made me!) and made sure to tell them both happy birthday and welcome to this world!
The multiple vaginal deliveries I saw were wild - I cannot get over how amazing the miracle of human life is. I also can't get over how quickly the baby is delivered once the woman starts pushing, or how crude the episiotomies are here! Babies are born by the second - I left to watch a C-section and missed 4 vaginal deliveries! Only the women who can afford their own room get privacy, while the rest of the women are lined up in beds along the wall, separated during their delivery by only a curtain from the woman next to them. Additionally, there is no AC in the labor and delivery rooms!!
Outside of work, people still stare at us like we are aliens, but I am used to it! I love how bustling everything is here (Caitlyn hates crossing the street, but I think it's fun...I feel like I am in the game Frogger) and we are loving the rickshaw rides we take to and from the hospital. Today, Shivani, Sarah, Jen and I rode on a rickshaw to the bus station, and I don't think I have ever or ever will be anywhere dirtier. There were homeless people sleeping on the ground, goats eating trash, TONS of flies, people trying to sell us street food, probably about 50 buses and new buses arriving/leaving every 2 minutes. We were there investigating how to acquire tickets to visit Bangalore this weekend, but the Bangalore ticket station was closed and supposedly opened at 3:30 according to a random boy. So we waited 15 minutes and then asked another man who told us it closed at noon. Hours of operation in this country are ridiculous - we had to go to the bank multiple times to cash travelers checks because the only man who does it is there from only 10-2! What kind of hours are those?!
All in all we are getting the hang of things in Vellore and have started to venture out. We ate at a restaurant down the street, got ice cream at another place, walked and picked up some pizza (which was awful - nothing like American pizza!), and basically just explored the surrounding area a little. This trip is opening my eyes and helping me to realize how small America is in the grand scheme of things - there are so many places to see and so many adventures to go on and so many people to meet in the world! Hopefully my next trip will be to Macedonia with my Baba to visit relatives and see the village where my dad's side of the family lives/lived!
Talk to ya'll laterrrrrr!
Alexis
P.S. For those who this pertains to, I have wireless so feel free to email me and I will respond when I can!
Our third day at the hospital is complete, and I cannot begin to express how much I have already learned!! I have been in the O.G. (obstetrics and gynecology) portion of the hospital for the last three days and I absolutely LOVE it. I knew I was interested in OB/GYN before coming to India, but this experience has confirmed that feeling times a million! Since Monday, I have seen multiple C-sections, vaginal deliveries, ante-natal checkups, and I have gone on rounds in the wards with high-risk pregnant or post-labor patients.
My first day (Monday), I was on the high-risk labor and delivery ward and immediately scrubbed in to watch a C-section. It's amazing how quickly the doctors and nurses can access the uterus and pull the baby out. While watching, I realized I haven't actually forgotten EVERYTHING from anatomy - you see the doctors cut through Scarpa's fascia, pull apart the rectus abdominus (no cutting of the abdominal muscles, entirely manual in nature...literally just stick their fingers in the linea alba and tear the two sides apart!), then the uterus is sitting right there! It's a very simple, concise procedure. I held the babies after both C-sections (my mom and Bridge know how happy that made me!) and made sure to tell them both happy birthday and welcome to this world!
The multiple vaginal deliveries I saw were wild - I cannot get over how amazing the miracle of human life is. I also can't get over how quickly the baby is delivered once the woman starts pushing, or how crude the episiotomies are here! Babies are born by the second - I left to watch a C-section and missed 4 vaginal deliveries! Only the women who can afford their own room get privacy, while the rest of the women are lined up in beds along the wall, separated during their delivery by only a curtain from the woman next to them. Additionally, there is no AC in the labor and delivery rooms!!
Outside of work, people still stare at us like we are aliens, but I am used to it! I love how bustling everything is here (Caitlyn hates crossing the street, but I think it's fun...I feel like I am in the game Frogger) and we are loving the rickshaw rides we take to and from the hospital. Today, Shivani, Sarah, Jen and I rode on a rickshaw to the bus station, and I don't think I have ever or ever will be anywhere dirtier. There were homeless people sleeping on the ground, goats eating trash, TONS of flies, people trying to sell us street food, probably about 50 buses and new buses arriving/leaving every 2 minutes. We were there investigating how to acquire tickets to visit Bangalore this weekend, but the Bangalore ticket station was closed and supposedly opened at 3:30 according to a random boy. So we waited 15 minutes and then asked another man who told us it closed at noon. Hours of operation in this country are ridiculous - we had to go to the bank multiple times to cash travelers checks because the only man who does it is there from only 10-2! What kind of hours are those?!
All in all we are getting the hang of things in Vellore and have started to venture out. We ate at a restaurant down the street, got ice cream at another place, walked and picked up some pizza (which was awful - nothing like American pizza!), and basically just explored the surrounding area a little. This trip is opening my eyes and helping me to realize how small America is in the grand scheme of things - there are so many places to see and so many adventures to go on and so many people to meet in the world! Hopefully my next trip will be to Macedonia with my Baba to visit relatives and see the village where my dad's side of the family lives/lived!
Talk to ya'll laterrrrrr!
Alexis
P.S. For those who this pertains to, I have wireless so feel free to email me and I will respond when I can!
Day 3 in the Hospital
Well, I think we can all say how much we appreciate A/C after this trip. If standing all day at work wasn't exhausting enough (my parents still wonder how i'll work a fulltime job let alone residency), the heat definitely adds a whole other element of exhaustion. Not sure if I can speak for everyone else, but I do have to say its liberating not wearing any makeup, not doing my hair and becoming content just sweating in every single outfit by 9am.
Both Rasika and I started on surgery rotations but were on different units. As far as my first day, I showed up at Surgery 4 (liver, gallbladder and pancreas unit) and was told to go to lunch, come back at 1, and when I did, no one was there. I think we've all gotten good at asking every single person directions (aka pointing to our sheet of paper repeating "Surgery 4!") I was told to go to the outpatient rooms and find a doctor, well that's easier said than done. I stood around, asking every person in formal clothes and they kept telling me to go somewhere else. I sat for while in one room alone and then a nurse finally came in and laughed and told me I should go to the next room with Dr. Joseph. I'm not sure anyone knows where we're supposed to be or with who, they just say go wherever.
The outpatient clinic was very interesting. There are about 12 cubicle cement rooms, each with a wooden bed, a desk and computer. The doctor stays in the room and over a microphone, announces for the next patient to come to this room. In the 2.5 hours i was with him, we saw well over 20 patients, not including the patients that just pushed themselves into the room between switches to just get 1 min with the doctor. He was a wonderful teacher, he reviewed every patient with me before and then after they left, summarized what they had to say. The whole process was nothing like i had every seen (same goes for the operating rooms). The door was constantly opening, residents coming in to discuss other patients with the attending while he was with another patient, other patients trying to get their way in the door, never a dull moment.
Both Rasika and I started on surgery rotations but were on different units. As far as my first day, I showed up at Surgery 4 (liver, gallbladder and pancreas unit) and was told to go to lunch, come back at 1, and when I did, no one was there. I think we've all gotten good at asking every single person directions (aka pointing to our sheet of paper repeating "Surgery 4!") I was told to go to the outpatient rooms and find a doctor, well that's easier said than done. I stood around, asking every person in formal clothes and they kept telling me to go somewhere else. I sat for while in one room alone and then a nurse finally came in and laughed and told me I should go to the next room with Dr. Joseph. I'm not sure anyone knows where we're supposed to be or with who, they just say go wherever.
The outpatient clinic was very interesting. There are about 12 cubicle cement rooms, each with a wooden bed, a desk and computer. The doctor stays in the room and over a microphone, announces for the next patient to come to this room. In the 2.5 hours i was with him, we saw well over 20 patients, not including the patients that just pushed themselves into the room between switches to just get 1 min with the doctor. He was a wonderful teacher, he reviewed every patient with me before and then after they left, summarized what they had to say. The whole process was nothing like i had every seen (same goes for the operating rooms). The door was constantly opening, residents coming in to discuss other patients with the attending while he was with another patient, other patients trying to get their way in the door, never a dull moment.
My 2nd day in surgery was a little more unorganized. Hoping to Dr. Joseph again, it took me about45 min and 15 security guards asking directions to to find OR 19, where he told me to show up. Unfortunately he wasn't doing surgery this week, so I just watched the other guys working, who weren't as willing to teach so when they went on break (and i was left alone in an OR with the patient on the table and a nurse), the nurse just said I could walk into any OR and just watch. So I did! And found a surgeon doing McKeowns procedure ( an esophagogastrecomy) and he was teaching other med students as well which worked out well!
Today, Jen and I saw 6 vaginal births in labor and delivery (5/6 had episiotomies done which was a bit traumatizing for us both). The OB ward was fascinating. I will get to do OB again next week and am very excited! We all are having very different experiences so hopefully we can all share our different stories!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Melting like ice cream
I finally got internet today at the library by the CMC hospitals and so here begins my first blog. The heat is almost unbearable, I'm sweatier than a "non-legacy applying to Yale". If you got that quote then you automatically earn 20 cool points. This heat reminds me of the summers I spent in Beijing where I would take up to 8 showers a day. Beijing is actually more humid than this but I think that is because I used to visit in late July-August. All this sweating has to be good for de-toxing. The rounds were pretty slow today, our attending has mad skillz with the ultrasound machine! I think he should come to WSU and teach us our ultrasound training because this man I swear can find anything wrong via ultrasound. It was a little bit different from what I had expected because it doesn't feel like the medical staff is used to having us students around. The ICU is pretty much the same here in India than back home, everyone is on a ventiliator and hanging on by a thread. I'm hoping that Medicine will be a little more hands on! A lot of the clinical presentations I have had mutliple times in the ED and in Rehabilitation. Most of the new things I've learned are mainly from the Ultrasound Guru!
Last night I was so hungry that I ran up to the rooftop and had some chicken tiki masala. There are only 3 things that I always order from Indian resturants back in CA - aloo gobi, gosht curry, and chicken tiki masala....and I've finally had all three here in India! Chicken tiki masala reminds me of Berkeley where my friend who was the captain of the Indian dance team and I would share a plate between classes. We would practically lick the plate clean since it was so good! The one I got last night was slightly different, the sauce was spicier and redder and less creamier, but it was still HELLA good! I think I ate it so fast I practically inhaled it...
Alright we are all about to head onto campus to run some errands! Will be posting later :-)
Last night I was so hungry that I ran up to the rooftop and had some chicken tiki masala. There are only 3 things that I always order from Indian resturants back in CA - aloo gobi, gosht curry, and chicken tiki masala....and I've finally had all three here in India! Chicken tiki masala reminds me of Berkeley where my friend who was the captain of the Indian dance team and I would share a plate between classes. We would practically lick the plate clean since it was so good! The one I got last night was slightly different, the sauce was spicier and redder and less creamier, but it was still HELLA good! I think I ate it so fast I practically inhaled it...
Alright we are all about to head onto campus to run some errands! Will be posting later :-)
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