My first week in the clinic was very interesting. Elena came in on Monday to show me the ropes and Dr. Mario was the only doctor in the clinic for the week, it was a nice slow week to get started with. I think we saw fifteen patients everyday. I didn’t do much shadowing as I was getting used to everything and not too far ahead of him with patients. Most of the cases were normal things that kids get, like strep throat, colds, and respiratory infections.
Mario showed me around the hospital as well, and took me on rounds with him one morning as well. The facility is not what you would see back home but about exactly what I expected. There were 8 new mothers with their newborns all sharing one room. No running water or actual restrooms, even though patients wait for hours to see a doctor. Since it is my first clinic experience at all, I have nothing to compare it to, but I can tell they get by on much more limited resources. Of course, it’s also pretty amazing that they only pay $.50 for a doctor consult and all of their prescriptions.
I spent my afternoons at Clinica Esperanza. My original plan was to help out at the Sandy Bay orphanage, but they are going through a transitional phase and don’t need help now. They have really built an amazing facility in Sandy Bay. Miss Peggy has been an amazing resource, everything from picking me up from the ferry and showing me around to donating any extra supplies to the hospital and openly sharing her resources with the Global Healing clinic. I had the opportunity to work a few days in the pharmacy at her clinic, filling prescriptions the doctors wrote up. It’s an opportunity I’m sure I would never get to experience back home. I’m hoping to get to shadow some of the doctors at her clinic as well. It was a really great first week and I’m looking forward to learning more next week.
This week started off with Dr. Gary and Jessie joining us in the clinic. Things got a little more crowded but more interesting as well. We had a rainy week, which I think kept a lot of people from coming into the clinic, because it was a slow week. Thursday we only saw 10 patients. We saw a lot of parasite cases, ear infections, and pneumonia. I was able to shadow Dr. Gary a few times and combine our limited Spanish, he’s very nice about explaining things. I also accompanied them all on rounds to check the newborns, all healthy! I also saw the bathroom at the hospital, out of necessity. The cleaning lady escorted me to a small room with a toilet, no seat or back cover. There was water all over the floor and a big barrel of water next to it. There was a door, no way to close it properly, and no toilet paper. The only redeeming thing about it was that it did smell of bleach. It’s amazing to think of a hospital without proper running water.
I had the opportunity to take the doctors to meet Miss Peggy and see her clinic on Tuesday as well, Jessie and Mario had the opportunity to meet her and get a tour of the facility, and Dr. Gary got to see the progress. I heard they had some cases of Rota Virus come through the clinic as well. I didn’t miss any clinic days, but I got sick Wednesday, so I didn’t make it up to Miss Peggy’s Thursday or Friday.
