Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Free upper-body workout...

I did a manual removal of a stuck placenta.
Just like going to the gym, only MUCH messier.

Enough said.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Change is constant

Here's what I have noticed is different since I was last here:
I have become a lot more patient in listening to people.
My feet are not as tough as they used to be - even with shoes on, it is difficult to walk over the stony path that I used to walk barefoot.
I don't cope with the heat as well as I used to.
I need more sleep than I used to.

I guess none of those things is about the hospital per se... so here's what's changed at the hospital:
The office has had a new coat of paint.
There is no reagent to do Widal testing.
The ultrasound machine has moved from one small, hot room to... another small, hot room.
The protocols for treating snakebite are changing due to either the death adders mutating or a large number of snakes identified as death adders being actually something else.

Having a lovely time so far - busy enough to stay out of trouble, but not so busy that I am likely to go (more) insane.

For the chefs - I have tuna, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, carrots, bananas, eggs, powdered mlk, rice and peanut butter. Any suggestions?

Thursday, November 26, 2009

PNG again... and an Iron Stomach Chef Challenge

I am starting to feel a bit like Rumginae is my second home, but I have realised (again!) that I shouldn't try to second-guess what returning here will be like.
I had forgotten it was so HOT! In spite of 6 years medical training, I had no personal experience of the number of sweat glands in the human body. I can now confidently say, as we used to as kids, that it is infinity plus one.

So, for the culinary-minded, I have in my house the following ingredients: tinned tuna, rice, broccoli, spring onions, zucchini, a small amount of cheese, tomato, peanut butter, milk (UHT) and some frozen lamb chops. Any ideas?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Taking stock

Important happenings in the last 3 weeks:
1. The celebration of two Christmases (possibly more; depends on how you add them up)... including waking up the patient's at 5.30am on Christmas Day by singing carols at them. (Well, carols by candelight is a Christmas tradition...)
2. Explaining the meaning of the word 'bogan' to an American couple.
3. Being introduced to 'The IT Crowd'.
4. Learning Christmas carols in Pidgin.
5. Seeing an 8-year old girl who had severe weight loss and malnutrition (among other things) from tuberculosis - she's now running around, smiling, talking to people (including doctors!) and has a beautifully round face.
6. Laughing with the staff about nothing in particular. And occasionally about my marital status (or lack thereof).
7. Watching the faces on the staff as they heard themselves in a copy of the radio program about Rumginae that was earlier broadcast on ABC Radio National.
8. Trying to convince someone on the other end of the radio that a 3 week-long illness did not require a medevac on a Saturday.
9. Getting used to Rumginae having internet access! I can now google all the conditions I come across that I have forgotten about since medical school...
10. Trying to write a blog post about what I've been doing in a hospital without either breaking confidentiality or making my reader(s) nauseated.

Love to all - am leaving here tomorrow, overnighting in Port Moresby and getting back to Australia (all being well) on Sunday.

Shar