Indok’s Blog

Attitude and resilience

I’ve really enjoyed working here at S. Africa.  I don’t mind waking up at 6:30AM to go to work and find a hectic floor with 25 patients.  Which surprisingly enough, after a couple days I remember why that patient is here.   I don’t mind that there’s only 1 computer and that it’s communal care (all the nurses take care of everybody).Even though in the States things run more smoothly, efficiently, and more effectively, I find that it’s the attitude of the team I work with that makes everyday enjoyable.  That and feeling like your presence makes a difference even if it is filling out discharge papers.  I feel lucky that I got a good team with a caring medical officer (junior attending), an efficient and kind intern, and that I get to work with my friend as well on the wards.  They rarely yell at their staff even though annoying things happen all the time, they try their best to manage patients on limited funds, and just make the best of what they have.I know I get frustrated because I want to do more for patients - like CT scans and this lab, etc, but it’s really made me ask 1)why do I want to order this lab and  2)even if I order it, will it change my plan?  Patients are resilient and you don’t have to order Chem7s and CBCs all the time.  They’ll be just fine.  I look forward to coming back home and seeing whether I’ll implement what I’ve learned here.