Final Thoughts
Thursday, April 26th, 2018 |
Things are coming to a close here in Macha and for the first time I feel some stirring of competency regarding what I am doing. When I first arrived, I felt myself clambering over a hump, albeit one with a steeply ascendant, and seemingly perpetual, learning curve carved into its side, in my attempt to […]
A Good Day
Thursday, April 19th, 2018 |
After a frustrating few days at work, I finally had a good day. In fact, today might have been the best day I’ve had at the hospital so far. I saw enough patients to keep it interesting without feeling overwhelmed, I did a procedure, and I went to the operating theater. All in all, everything […]
Time Abroad
Sunday, April 15th, 2018 |
This post is one I’ve been ruminating on for a few weeks now. Ever since I got to Macha, I’ve noticed that time moves, well, a little differently here than in other hospitals (and places) I’ve been to. I don’t know if this is due to something endemic to the culture, to the low-resource setting […]
Brief Update
Friday, April 13th, 2018 |
We rounded on the women’s ward today, specifically checking up on the patients we admitted yesterday. One of them, the woman who was brought to us septic and practically unconscious, was smiling at us as we passed by her bed. Although I know by now that any successful resuscitative effort has to be considered in […]
In Clinic
Thursday, April 12th, 2018 |
Today was a busy day in the clinic. Typically, clinic is where we go after we have finished seeing the patients on the wards and there isn’t something else to do. It’s a kind of default place where everyone, from the medical students to the visiting residents to the physicians, will see patients. There are […]
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 |
Eating lunch in Zambia, especially while working at the hospital, is a hit-and-run affair. Today, I spent three and a half hours helping see patients in the ART clinic, the facility designed for HIV/AIDS patients on anti-retroviral drugs. After I was done there, I thought I could slip out to an early lunch but something […]
Going to Church
Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 |
Yesterday, I went to church. Here at Macha church functions like an orienting force (or perhaps THE orienting force) for life in the community. The hospital sits on mission land and although the church’s reach is gentle, it can be felt everywhere. Handwritten exhortations of love and healing, underscored by Biblical authority, pepper the walls […]
The Tonga word for pain
Sunday, April 8th, 2018 |
During one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I participated in a bilateral tubal ligation where the patient was anesthetized with a spinal anesthetic. Which means she was effectively awake as we operated. The idea of a patient watching me as I helped operate is disconcerting to say the least, as much as for […]
Case of the Day
Thursday, April 5th, 2018 |
Today’s post will be a case of the day, specifically an emergent C-section. The case came in while I was rounding in the pediatric ward with Dr. Mbanga, the ward rounder and also a general surgeon and anesthetist (many of the doctors seem to occupy several roles at once here.) After hearing about the case […]
First Impressions
Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 |
At the end of the day, my boots are covered in a fine powder of red dust, except for the place where the hem of my pants fell over them. My white coat is, surprisingly, untouched, despite the ring of sweat that rode under (and later through) my collar. I am finished with my first […]
