1-18-09: Last day (probably!) in Kapuna
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »In all likelihood, today was my last day in Kapuna (nothing isguaranteed in PNG) and it was mostly a nice and relaxing day tofinish with, although the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. Dr.Calvert and I went down for out-patient rounds this ...
1-17-09: A pretty much routine day
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »I was trying to think of a title for this post, and nothing came tomind. We didn't really do anything out of the ordinary today. Noemergencies, no snakebites, no women in abnormal (or any) labor...itwas a pretty calm Saturday.Morning rounds ...
1-16-09: It’s raining, it’s pouring…
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »That metaphorical black cloud from yesterday burst open last night toa metaphorical storm of massive proportions.The day started about an hour and a half after I fell asleep, whenMeka, one of the CHWs, came pounding on the door to the ...
1-15-09: Black cloud
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »No, there wasn't a literal black cloud hanging over the hospital today (well, there must have been last night--it was quite stormy), just a figurative one. I've decided that when it comes to obstetrics, I'm definitely a bad omen to have around, ...
1-14-09: A lot of work, and nothing to show for it
Thursday, January 15th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Our mystery patient continues to be a mystery to us. After another slow start to the day (I guess I should consider it fortunate that every time I oversleep, the people ringing the bell to start 6:30 rounds does as well), we checked ...
1-13-09: Another theory about our patient
Thursday, January 15th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »We started the day by looking up possible diagnoses for our patient from yesterday (the one that may or may not have TB); or, rather, possible diagnoses that we can treat. We decided that a vitamin B deficiency is a possibility; it explains ...
1-12-09: Our patient is dying, and we don’t know why
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Although I'm getting a bit more confident about trying patients empirically (without any confirmation of their presumptive diagnosis), there's still a lot to get used to, and it goes against much of what I was taught during my third year rotations. It was Ward ...
1-11-09: Another slow day
Monday, January 12th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The day started even more lazy than yesterday, as I didn't get myself out of bed until about 6:25. Normally, that wouldn't be nearly enough time to put in my contacts, brush my teeth, get dressed, and put sunscreen/bug repellant before the bell ...
1-10-09: A nice, lazy Saturday
Monday, January 12th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »The day got off to a slow start, but then picked up and proved to be a nice day. We had our usual rounds in Ward C (adult ward) in the morning, and for as sluggish as I was today (I just ...
1-9-09: This is the dry season?
Monday, January 12th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »Last night it started storming right as I was going to bed, and I mean really storming--wind howling, rain, lightning and thunder, everything. I got out of bed a few times just to make sure that I had everything that could blow away ...