Back to Work

Monday October 18, 2010

Day 45

My first day back to the office after my vacation with my parents was nice and uneventful.  I caught up on some work and did some research.  Today I was researching information that I need to know for my observations in obstetrics tomorrow.  There is so much to learn and of course Teresa was able to teach me a lot too. She really knows about EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I wish I had one of those pocket voice recorders so I could record everything she is telling me and play it back to reference.  We ended up staying at the office until some time around 8:30.  When I got home I watched the disastrous Yankee game on Gamecast and it was even more painful than watching it in real life.

Tuesday October 19, 2010

Day 46

Today was the first day of my obstetrics observation.  I learned more today than I did in some classes that I took for an entire semester in college.  Not to knock IU because it is a great school but the amount you can learn from hands on (or eyes on) experience is priceless.  In my morning session I learned how to take blood pressure, determine how many weeks pregnant someone is from the position/location of the baby in the abdomen, how to listen to the heartbeat and even more things that I am probably forgetting. Note: I will attempt to actually take the blood pressure on Thursday when that doctor returns because I was too nervous to mess it up today and told her I needed practice.  Since the lesson was in Spanish I needed to confirm a few words before I felt comfortable.

In the afternoon I learned more about obstetrics but a lot about gynecology also.  There were only a few patients in the afternoon but I learned all about pelvic exams, pap smears and types of possible infections and ailments.  Although I was not specifically “taught” this, I learned a lot about bedside manner.  Both of the doctors made all of the patients feel so comfortable in situations that were often uncomfortable.  The way they speak to the patients and the way they ease their nerves really gave me a good example of proper bedside manner.

When it was time to leave at 4:00pm, I had a tiny problem.  The person who usually drives me to the clinic in the morning wasn’t there this morning so one of the nurses took me.  Since I didn’t see the usual person I guess he didn’t know I went to the clinic so at 4:00 he was far away and wasn’t able to get me.  No one else was available and Teresa only lets me use one taxi driver that she knows but that driver didn’t know where the clinic was.  Someone in the office told me that Orlando, someone who works in the Project HOPE office a few days a week (he actually works for Order of Malta), would come get me but in the back of my head I was thinking that he didn’t have a car.  Orlando showed up but when I went outside I saw a familiar yellow taxi and inside was Freddy, the man who drove my family around the other day! Orlando had to show Freddy the area where the clinic was and then they both escorted me back to Teresa’s house.  That was a long story but I thought I should share all the trouble people went through just to get me home safely.  That was really for my mom.  I am not afraid of the taxi situation but Teresa insists that I only use this one person and of course I am not going to disobey the person who is doing so much for me.

Fun Facts:

1.       When I was talking to one of the doctors about women not knowing how far along they are in their pregnancies (that happens a lot here) I told her about the TLC show “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” and she seemed very interested. 

2.       Food is one of the easiest topics for me to talk about in Spanish.  I think it has to do with using the same set of words so unless it is a new food that I haven’t heard of; I can most likely figure out what people are talking about.  I noticed that today in the car with a nurse who I usually have trouble understanding because she speaks very quickly with a difficult accent to understand.  When we talked about food the conversation was so much easier.  I feel so much smarter when I am able to respond to the questions in the conversation and not just smile or nod my head.  I am good at talking about food in English too.

3.       People in the kitchen at the clinic always think my microwavable Healthy Choice Soup cup is really nifty.  They also always get concerned that the silver part is metal and that I am going to ruin the microwave. 

4.       A patient brought the doctor two bananas a few minutes after her consult (there is a fruit vendor outside the clinic, how smart!) and the doctor told me one was for me.  That was so nice and I really wanted a banana for my lunch too.

5.       The best way to watch a game on Gamecast is when you have someone actually watching the game supplement the scores/graphics with live updates.  On Gamecast you can’t see close/bad calls, injuries, delays, etc. (Thank you, Miss Alex!)

Peace,

Jaclyn