Sure is hot out here....seriously. Ghana Day 2

(Heads up, I'll post pictures tomorrow, forgot my cord in the hostel)


I seriously can't stop sweating! These 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) are definitely something I have to get used to. I started my day with a big to-do list. I was still running around with little to no cash. I had about 15 cedis (about 6 dollars) to last me until I got my pin for my card. I didn't have a given time when I had to be at the university. I knew the students had to be in the OR by 9. A doctor had told me yesterday that the morning meetings are at 7:30 but I didn't know if that was every day or not. I decided I really had to get everything else taken care of today so that I could stop worrying about it and focus on working.

I headed to the building with the internet first to check my messages. I proceeded to the OBGYN office because I was in search of a doctor that my dad's colleague had told me to talk to. I was directed to the reproductive health services building. I was asked to wait in the waiting room. I'm not a huge fan of just sitting around because it makes me extremely sleepy. Eventually, I was asked to come out of the waiting room. I was introduced to the doctor and he took me into his office. I informed him that I was with Group D (He is part of group B) and that I needed scrubs in order to work in the OR. His nurses brought me some. I think they might be a bit short but I'm just happy to have some. We chatted a bit about what I expected to do while I was here. I decided I would follow the students of Group D for the next two weeks while they were still on their OBGYN rotation and then hop around a bit. He offered me the opportunity to come and work with him a few days as well. I asked him if he thought it would be alright if I spent the day getting everything in order. He assumed that would be no problem at all and wrote down the names of the doctors in my group. I thanked him for his help and headed over to the surgery block. My orientation is improving by the hour.

Once in the OBGYN operation theater building, I looked for a person who might help me locate one of the doctors on my list. When someone in scrubs finally emerged, I seized the oppurtunity and asked him. Funny enough, the leading consultant of my group happened to just walk in. I intorduced myself and asked if it would be okay if I spent the day getting my things in order. He was completely ok with it and told me to meet up with the group tomorrow for the delivery room....at 9:30. How relaxed is that?!

My friend had found one pin for me but for a card I was hoping was back at the hostel. I really couldn't do much else without money, so I walked back to the hostel. Its about 20 minutes either way. It was getting really hot too and my water supply was dwindling. Back at the hostel, the porter took me to introduce me to the warden. She was a very lovely lady that welcomed me to Ghana and thanked me for my interest in her country. Lucky for me, the card that I still had in my room, did in fact match the pin my friend sent me! I took a 5 minute break to cool off and was back on the road back into the town/university area.

First stop was paying for the hostel in the admissions building because I was afraid they would be closed otherwise. I paid my month fee in US Dollars which I had brought along. Next stop was the bank terminals. Its a big glass box with multiple stalls and ATM machines from different banks. I was so happy when I was able to hold Ghana Cedis in my hand. With cash in my wallet, I was able to get my receipt photocopied for the warden, buy some juice, buy towels and toilette paper and even bought an avocado and papaya to take back to the hostel. The best purchase (aside from the toilette paper) was the fresh coconut! It was only 1 Cedi!! That is only 38 US cents!! The coconut water is so delicious! after drinking the water, they machete the rest of it open and remove the meat for you to take with you. I could have a fresh coconut to drink every morning :)

Having completed all the important things on my list, I headed back to the internet building but unfortunately, the internet wasn't connecting. I had been running errands non stop and it was only noon! I headed back to the hostel for some rest. Hung out, ate and partially napped a bit before heading back into town. I wanted to see if the internet was working. And it was, otherwise this post never would have made it up.

The walk over here was so much fun. The kids were coming out of school. I am an exotic being for them. They will wave and shout hello from their cars or even if they are just walking far away. It is the cutest thing. I walked past two schools and each time I was held up by a huge group of kids that wanted to shake my hand, talk to me, ask how I am doing, where I come from. I asked them how school was, if they had learned anything and if they had plans for when they get home. Seriously the cutest things. They all just look at me with big eyes. Kids would even shout over to me if I was on the other side of the road. Precious. I think me and the kids will have to hang out more.

The kids weren't the only thing accompanying my journey. The taxi drivers were beeping at me constantly. They would honk more intensely at me than the others. Thank you, but I enjoy walking. I am the daughter of my mother, we are walkers.

With basically everything in order, I will be able to join Group D tomorrow and start seeing babies be delivered. Speaking of babies...I LOVE the way the mothers here carry their children. Fun fact: countries like Ghana that still carry their children have a lower rate of hip dysplasia. (have to keep this a bit medical)

Hopefully I'll have cool stories to report tomorrow!

Sure is hot out here....Ghana Elective Day 1

Where do I begin? I'm alive and well in Ghana. The flight with Turkish airlines was very comfy, especially after grabbing the exit row seats....so...much...room! 

Leaving the plane in Ghana, I was hit by the hotness (about 30 degrees Celsius)....mind you it was already dark and 8 o'clock at night. The customs line took a while. I finally got through about an hour or so after debarking. I picked up my suitcase  and started walking out thinking how I might recognize the woman picking me up. My hope was that the simple fact that I am tall, blonde and white would be enough for her to see me. I was helped with my luggage, the guy wanted cash in return, sadly for him I had none. On exiting the airport, there was a huge line with people holding signs. One after another but no recognizable name. Until the end, for some reason I felt like I knew her and she was holding a sign with my name.

We stopped by a few places to pick up water and snacks. She drove me over the campus and to the international student housing. I had no idea what to expect. What I got is a room with two beds, two desks, a tv, small fridge and bathroom. There was a doctor from Nigeria there for the night. She had to leave at 5am but actually left at 3am. And she was packing and cleaning the whole time. I tried going to sleep around 11:30 and was constantly waking up every hour or so due to noise. She was very sweet though. She left me a water boiler and introduced me to a girl that lives here. She gave me a few pointers before I went to sleep as well. That is something I have definitely noticed, how nice everyone is and willing to help.

I woke up in time to get ready and get picked up by Sandra to take me to the admissions office. Even in getting ready, I was confronted with an issue I have to get used to working with....no running water. The water is in big plastic containers in the bathroom and a plastic bowl inside to move it. I'm learning to work with it. Even took a "shower" at night. Making the toilet work is a bit trickier but I've got it down.

The admission office was still closed by the time we got there so we headed over to OBGYN to check in there. They wanted me to go back to admissions and pay before starting in OBGYN. Sandra dropped me off at admissions and I was on my own. Things aren't quite as regulated as they are in Germany. Everyone takes their time to get to work. I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes before the secretary got me although I had seen her running around chatting before that. Oh well. Africa time. 

I paid and headed back to OBGYN. There I was assigned Team D. A doctor took me for a super short tour and introduced me to a few people before letting me into a room where a few students sat. They introduced themselves and gave me a spot to sit. They asked where I was from, what year I was in, how long I was staying. These ended up being the standard questions for the day, along with "what are the differences between Ghana and Germany?". (So many!)

They then lead me into the adjoining room where a patient and her child were sitting (adorable little four year old who just looked at me with big eyes and asked his mom in Twi, the local language, who I was. Probably doesn't see to many Bruni (I believe that is the correct word and means white person) around here. I certainly didn't.) . It took me a moment to analyze the situation but I concluded it was a student taking the history and multiple other students watching/studying/talking/walking in and out. They are a lot more relaxed about it all here than in Germany. Everyone comes and goes. The history taking took really long. I couldn't quite get a lot of it because it was in Twi. Later on I was informed she had infertility problems. We waited for the consultant to have time for us all so that the student could present. 

The waiting room for the patient consisted of a covered open area with a lot of benches. There seemed to be endless patients. Since we had only been dealing with one, I figured we weren't getting home until late. When we left our room though, a lot of the patients had already been taken care of.

There were two patients that needed to be presented. The crazy thing is that they had to wait there just as long as we did. That would never happen in Germany. There would be a lot of attitude and grumpiness. Here though, they didn't say a word. The consultants asked a lot of questions. All in all, the students did a good job though.

After those presentations we were done at around 2. The students were all so nice to me. A few guys took me to their hostel so that I could use their laptop and get in contact with everyone. On the way we got fresh coconuts! I will be doing that everyday! 

The connection to the wifi in the hostel was bad and kept throwing me out on my iPhone. Hopefully I will find a better way to surf. The Internet in my hostel isn't connecting at all to my devices. I might be going through some serious digital detox here. 

Selom and I grabbed a bite to eat and then returned to the hostel so I could try to get some stuff done. Not successful. Afterwards I headed back to my hostel. Tried my luck with the Internet. Failed. So I had to upload this post late. 

I will be letting you know about the differences I'm experiencing as they happen. I've already mentioned a few; the friendliness, the hotness, the openness of the place structurally, the bad wifi, the not running water in my room, the fresh coconuts! 

I will have to just get used to the weather and the mind set of the people here. But I am sure I can roll with it. I'll keep you all updated as much as possible!

Baci V

Sniff, cough, cough, cough, sniff.....ugh

I'm going to have to keep it a bit shorter today. I am full blown sick. My cough hurts, my nose is stuffed up, my chest is hurting and my whole body is weak. Oh well. That is just how it goes when you have a period of positive stress (under negative stress the body is less likely to become sick because it is worried about surviving) so after moving to my own place (and being super content with the decision) and being really happy in peds, it hit me. I'm sure the little kiddos in peds also had a role to play in all of this. Anyways, enough pity party...

As I mentioned yesterday, I was not looking forward to today. It ended up being a lot less harmful than I thought. The morning meeting was nothing but normal. My nice doctor from my 26h shift was there and immediately picked me to work on her ward. 

We had some coffee and discussed the patients there. I did the admissions physical examination and history for two patients. I immediately starting collecting the information I needed for my doctors letters. Afterwards, I headed to the library and finished typing them and looking up information relevant to their diseases. 

In the afternoon, back on the ward, a resident took pity on my pitiful state. She said she would sign the papers that needed signing and I could go home and get some rest. I told her I definitely wanted to present my patient to her otherwise I would feel like I cheated the system. I presented the patient I had worked on, answered a few questions and got my evaluation and signatures. 

I grabbed a quick bite to eat, unwilling to cook something at home, and went home to bed.

It is the best timing for me right now to be sick (if I must be sick). With night shifts and traveling starting the end of the month, I'd rather have my body go through all this crap now.

I look like death though, so no pictures. Besides, I still don't have my new phone so I wouldn't be able to post anyways. 

I am in the lab the next few weeks. If something interesting happens, I'll be here reporting. Otherwise dear readers, I will be flying to Ghana on March 16th! I don't know how quickly I'll have a working connection but I will be reporting as much as possible. I'm super excited. Maybe I'll post a little prep post for Ghana. So just tune in every so often and see if there is something new!

Thanks for sticking with me the last two weeks. Hope you enjoyed!

See you soon! Stay healthy!

Baci

V

Talk to the elbow, you aren't worth the extension. How the last 36h pissed me off.

The last 36 hours have been an emotional roller coaster. The one you get off of and never ever want to get back onto. I am dumbfounded by so much.

Let's take it back to yesterday when it all started.

I got to the hospital around 8:30 although I didn't have to be there until 8:55AM. The instructions where to go to the delivery ward and introduce ourselves to the midwives. I try to go into situations with an open mind and give people a fresh clean slate but I've had so many bad experiences with midwives that I was already not looking forward to this first meeting but put that aside. 

So there I am standing in front of the ward looking for the doorbell. In the same moment a midwife walks up behind me, opens the door and asks if I'm there to see them. I introduce myself as the 26h block student. She told me to take a seat in the midwife room.

So there I sat. I quietly read my little OBGYN booklet. After about 15 minutes I heard the familiar voice of a girl who studies with me. I was so happy to hear her come. The rest wasn't exactly making me feel welcomed.

She showed me around a bit before we both ended up sitting on the couch again being quiet. While we were on our way to the changing room initially, a person walked past us. Since I was in the middle of a conversation with my student friend, I didn't really pay attention who it was. When we were back in the midwife room, we were almost lectured about how we should always say hello to a midwife......um, sorry, it wasn't written on your forehead! The doctors look like the nurses and they look like the midwives here. Everyone is wearing scrubs. Ugh.

During the morning midwife meeting, my friend and I sat there quietly. She eventually left and I sat there. Luckily at some point a few doctors arrived. I introduced myself again. This was something I did throughout the day for about another 5-6 times because of the changing shifts.

The midwife took me to one patient who was starting to go into labor. Soon after that, other doctors for the shift showed up and we had a little meeting in the meeting room. The doctors decided they wanted to see the patient I just saw. I felt it was unnecessary for another person to storm in there with them because they were enough of an entourage already. About 10 minutes later I do end up going into the room. And there is a baby already born!!! Well gee, thanks for letting me know. It's not like I'm here to learn or see anything. Ugh. 

I was shocked to see how bad a birth can rip up the anatomy. It didn't look nearly as bad once the doctor was done sewing it all up again but dang.

The rest of the day (which seemed to take forever by the way) was spent running from one ward to the next, drawing blood, putting IVs on and answering pagers. (FYI I also made it to pager status and had my own :) I had a nifty picture that I sadly can't post. You will find out why later) We didn't get a break to eat until almost 4PM. I should have had more than a banana for breakfast. 

Up until lunch I was already boiling over. I don't want to trash talk anyone here but the atmosphere between the workers there was unbearable. Asking a question was a big drama with everyone except one doctor. I tried to do as much as possible without asking because I was so fed up with the down right nasty response I would get. I was about to throw it all down and leave.

Lunch was relaxed compared to all that.

After lunch (more like linner), we had a few outpatient cases and ward work to get done. At some point we had a pregnant lady who came with her husband and child. Children aren't allowed on the ward. This family spoke mainly English. The midwife asked the doctors if they spoke Genglish. Well how convenient. I ended up becoming the personal translator for this family. From that point on the one midwife absolutely loved me. I even watched the little kid while the husband was with his wife. Such a little cutie.

We were busy until almost midnight. I was almost falling asleep while standing. I was finally in bed at midnight and slept until 6. 

The morning was filled with drawing blood and getting patient information together for a doctors letter that I still have to write. I heard that there were 3 cesarean sections planned. Although my shift was almost done in a few hours and a new student would be on his way, I got the doctor I liked to get me into the delivery room. First up was my family. I stood in the delivery room waiting for the husband. It seemed no one really cared if the dad was there or not! I asked if someone had called the dad. The whole team looked at me crazy and one nurse asked if we were waiting to operate until the dad came. I left the room and went to ask the others if the dad had been informed that the operation had been moved up. The doctors looked at me as if I had asked them something completely absurd! "Call the Dad? Why would we do that?" Ummmmmm.....so he can be here for the birth of his child maybe?! Seriously, what is wrong with you people? I didn't ask you to personally go pick him up in a limo and carry him up the stairs to the room. Is no one thinking about the situation for the family?

They told me to ask the midwives (of course it's always a tennis court with the questions here). I found one of the younger midwives and she told me the dad was sitting outside the ward. When I asked why he wasn't in the OR, she informed me he had brought the child. I told him the night before to organize someone to watch after the kid so he could be there for the birth. Regardless if he should have organized this in advance since it was a planned C-Section or not, he should be with his wife and see the birth of his child! I immediately ran out of the ward, told him I would watch the child and he should go watch his second child be born. Luckily the little kid took a liking to me. Yes, I sacrificed not seeing a c-section although I wanted to but I'll see multiple ones in my life....this father might only have this one left. 

Do I think too much for others? Am I completely crazy? I feel the upmost priority is obviously the health of the mother and child but it just seems natural to want to do everything possible for the father to be there too (again, even if he should have been better organized with the little one. Still, I'm an extra, they didn't need me there).

I stayed to see the next c-section which was twins. My favorite OR nurse from the urology department was working in the delivery room today. At least one more person I like. It's always fun to see the babies come out so quickly. The longest part is sewing everything back up. 

After that operation and 27 hours in the hospital I finally went home.

Since I recently moved, I had to go to the municipal building and inform them of the move. I went to the grocery store after that. Had my phone in my hand for sure in the grocery store. I get back home and my phone is gone! It is my biggest nightmare (not health or family related) to loose my phone. It holds so much valuable information, memories and other things that I would be devastated loosing it. I called around, I drove back and forth, retraced tracks, everything. Phone was gone. When I called initially it still went through, when I called about 45 minutes later it was turned off. Ahhhhhhhhhh! It was a goner. I know it's a first world problem. I am fully aware of this. It's not the phone necessarily that I'll miss, losing the value is stupid, buying a new one and paying it off over two years even more so, but it's the videos of my god child, the pictures of some dear friends and I that I hadn't had the chance to download yet, that are the things that make me want to cry.

I went and ordered a new phone. Guess I'll have to be even more money conscious. But it is what it is. I reported it to the police but I doubt I'll get it back. 

On top of all this crap, I'm sick. I think the kids in peds really infected me. 

All in all, really crappy last 36 hours (there was the occasional nice moment). I'm really not about bashing people but that department needs to work on a more harmonious working with one another. I have 10 hours to do tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. If I have learned anything, it's that I am absolutely sticking to never becoming a gynecologist. Too many women in one area. I would go absolutely insane. 

I will work focused on getting my letters written tomorrow and see that the people don't make me mad and then it will soon be over. The participating people should really reflect and see if that is the kind of reaction they want the student to have after working in their department. I'm not asking for coffee, candy and hugs....I am asking for a respectful working environment. I really don't think that is too much. We are students on a completely unfamiliar ward. We are not there to bug you or be in your way, in the best case scenario we are there to learn and help. So don't treat us like crap and don't use us to fight your wars. Just a thought.

I would have loved to post some fun pictures along with this post but seeing my phone was stolen....thank the thief or the person who found it and decided to just keep it.

Maybe a miracle happens and tomorrow is great. 

Baci 

V

Wow, I made it all the way to Friday without being asked that question! Last day Peds!

Awww man, last day.

We got a few more admissions over night. We spent the time before rounds checking up on some kids and looking at the new kids. I checked the findings to see if my patient had any new values. 

Rounds was hilarious today. I don't know if everybody took an extra dose happy pills but we were cracking jokes and having a good ole time. At some point the doctors talked about an actress that was on the screen in one of the patients rooms. They were all super excited about her and not knowing who the heck they were talking about, I asked. They all stared at me like I had just asked them who Obama is. The one resident even gave me the "talk to the hand" gesture. The attending said he had thought about letting me go early and giving me the top score as an evaluation but after revealing my lack of knowledge over this apparently very good looking lady, I would have to do overtime and would only achieve a subpar score. Haha. I looked her up later and it turns out I do know who she is, I just didn't know that that was her name.

The attending came into the work room later and asked me if I was related to David. Wow. I made it all the way through to Friday without anyone asking me! New record. I told him that we are distantly related. He thought that was pretty cool. He left the work room and about two minutes later a nurse walks in and says, "so guess what I just heard." Well gee, that didn't take long. She told me they were singing "I've been looking for freedom" out in the work area. ....of course they are. Haha. I mean I think it is all very entertaining.

(Wow, made it all the way to Friday without that question)

After lunch I had to sit around a bit waiting for the attending to have time to quiz me a bit and give me my final evaluation score. I was so ready to answer just about every question about inflammatory bowel disease. In the end it was short and sweet. Even with my lack of knowledge about the actress, I got the top score.

I went home to get some sleep assuming I had a night shift to go to. I don't. There was a glitch in the planning system. New plan is to get some work done at home and maybe bake some cookies. We shall see.

The week in peds was so much more than that I expected. I was really lucky with my ward and team though. I'm also a strong believer that your own attitude contributes a lot to the experience as well. It was fun, I would have no problem going back on Monday. Now it's time to get ready for two days OBGYN and then really go in on this doctor thesis. 

I think the kids may have made me sick though, I've had a tightening feeling in my throat since this morning. I hope not!

Have a great weekend everyone! I have my 26 hour shift on Sunday. Hope I have a lot of interesting things to report on!

Baci 

V

"Oh that is not necessary. We aren't the surgeons!" Day 4 Peds Ward

Oh it's been quite a long but good day. Let me get yall caught up.

I really must say that I enjoy showing up for work at 8:15 apposed to 7am. It is a world of a difference. Not every specialty has that luxury however.

We got a few new kids over night and I was appointed a kid that apparently fell and hit its head. I looked at the admissions report and headed in with the resident to interview the parents and child and do a physical examination. He was up and doing just fine. After a thorough questioning, we examined him and had him do all kinds of neurological tests. It's fun in peds because you often have to demonstrate what you want the kids to do so not only does the patient look like a fool but so does the doctor jumping around on one foot.

Rounds went a little longer today because we had multiple things to organize for some of the kids. I like rounds though. I think its because of the great team on the ward. Everybody is allowed to say something without having the feeling that you are constantly criticized or only there to observe.

 

(A little more neutral today but I have my zebra phone!)

By the time we got around to my patient, I presented his case to the attending with ease. Granted a patient that fell doesn't have the most difficult case to report on but it still feels awesome to just throw out a good report and get positive feedback!

After rounds I worked on finishing my doctors letter. We got a whole bunch of new findings back from the lab that I didn't even notice it being 11:30 already and time for the morning meeting. I ran up the two flights of stairs only to enter the room almost empty with a few other students in the last row. Everybody else was just starting to arrive.

I've mentioned the situation with seating arrangements in the hospital before. In the surgical departments, the students are the ones that sit way in the back...always. It is quite the faux pas to sit in the row where the residents or even worse the attendings sit (although I accidentally did that my first elective). The pediatric doctors are much more relaxed about it but at this point, we students are so drilled in finding that spot furthest away from the front. Later in the day, I got up from my seat to move back in a MRI findings meeting when some doctors walked in and some students and I had taken up a row. The doctor was almost shocked at my action and said, "Oh that is not necessary. We aren't the surgeons!" Thought that was sweet.

(I need at lease one of these a day. Very fitting I think)

After a quick lunch, I was back on the ward putting my final touches on the letter. When the resident sat down to go through it with me, I was afraid she would think it was terrible. She even started the conversation saying she is a total grammar control freak. Greeeeeeeat. 

In the end though, I really did a good job. There were only minor things here and there that she wanted formulated differently. All in all though, we didn't change much. Yay! Might sound stupid that I am so happy about that but I am not afraid to say that one of my weaknesses is the German grammar (I'm sure enough people reading this are cringing at my English grammar as well). German is hard! 

I interviewed and examined another patient with the same resident from earlier. Another boy that hit his head. He was doing just fine as well. You wouldn't have thought that he was brought into the hospital the night before with the ambulance. Again the same gymnastic routine of neurological tests was performed.

After a bit more work here and there, I was done for the day on the ward. I headed to the library to work on some translation work with another student for an attending in the hospital.

Since my uncle is on vacation, I went and had dinner with my aunt. We went to a very good greek restaurant. We ended up chatting for 2 hours while eating. We had just finished up and were close to leaving when the chef cook came and sat down at our table. We ended up chatting for another 2 hours with the guy! We discussed so many topics and it was interesting how we all contributed stand points from our respective fields. The obvious being good nutrition and medicine. We also discussed the work ethic of people today, differences between countries (since we had representatives from Greece, the USA and Germany at the table), the towns development over the years, TV documentaries....really everything! It was a really nice evening. Now its off to bed though because I have my last day of peds tomorrow and then a night shift. If I'm lucky, I'll get out a bit early and will get a few hours of sleep in.

Baci

V

"Here is a tractor and now I have to go cook some building blocks"....oh kids. Day 3

The more time I spend on this ward, the more I like it and the more I think I'd be a great pediatric doctor. The only aspect that I would miss is the operating room. I could of course be a children's surgeon but then I'm basically only in the OR and don't have the daily encounters that I do right now. So at this point I am still sticking to my plan of becoming an urologist and eventually specializing on the little ones. 

The patient I had planned to interview this morning and present in rounds was at the ENT doctors when I got to work. Apparently the case was a bit more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Instead, I interviewed a 2 year old and his mother because they were admitted last night. The little bugger didn't want to drink the last few days. He was doing a lot better already this morning.

I got all my infos together and went to the patient again with one of the residents to do a physical examination. 

By the time rounds rolled around I was good to go. We went through all the rooms with the same entourage from the last few days. A few more interesting cases, including some rare diseases where admitted.

My presentation was as breeze. A lot easier than I thought it would be. The rest of the rounds was good as well.

My new task was to write a preliminary release note for my patient. I finished up before heading to the morning meeting.

After lunch, I finished up a few things on the ward and started to check in on some of the kids. I played around with some of the patients. They are just so adorable. I feel so at ease on this ward. The staff is friendly, the kids are fun and the parents are, for the most part, very friendly.

I had to leave a bit earlier today to be able to teach English.

The time is really flying in this week long internship. 

I could easily work in this department for a while. But I've got a lot of other things I need to get done.....so the kids will have to wait. Hopefully I'll see a lot of kiddies in Ghana!

Baci

V