November 22nd - Week 4
I have officially been here 1 month. I am glad I have chosen to stay for 3 months, because I am just beginning to understand the island and the culture. More so, I am learning more every day about the common diagnoses in the clinic and understanding the patterns of the medicines used. There are the most frequently prescribed medicines such as Diphenhydramine, Acetaminophen, Piperazine, Mebendazol, Amoxicillin, Salbutamol etc. These all are prescribed for a wide variety of illnesses because there are really so few medications available. Nearly every kid gets the parasite medications as a general precaution. Many come in just to get multivitamins. I have had several people this week ask for a toothbrush. We don’t have any, so I am going to make it a goal to get a supply soon. Giving each child a toothbrush would help also one of the causes of malnutrition here: dental carries. Many children have rotting brown molars, making it painful for them to eat. This leads to malnutrition, which leads to greater susceptibility to illnesses. Clearly I cannot stop this downward spiral but at least giving out toothbrushes is a place to start.
Once a week or so the hospital nurses present information to the mothers waiting in the hallway outside the pediatric clinics. Last week the nurse had a large colorful chart demonstrating the benefits of vaccinations. This week she spoke about H1N1 and passed out pamphlets. The nurses are really just yelling this information to anyone willing to listen in the busy hallway, but it does seem that most mothers do pay attention. I am really impressed by this. However random the presentations are, the information does reach some people. These mothers have already taken the effort to bring their children to the doctor and are made to wait so really it is the best timing possible to convey relevant health information.
Now that I am comfortable in the intern job and the necessary Spanish vocabulary, I can spend more time learning about the diagnoses. Dr. Mario explains to me a lot of the medical vocabulary and tells me about the illnesses, symptoms, and causes. I am surprised actually that we do not see many Malaria cases. I had expected it to be more common. Also, I do not think we have had any H1N1 cases, or else they just don’t test to verify.
In news outside of clinic, we have had beautiful weather this week. I got to eat some fresh caught Tuna, Bonito and Baracuda fish with friends here. I spent Saturday at beautiful West Bay beach. I also finished my advanced diver certification this week. I feel incredibly lucky that this internship opportunity has brought me to such a gorgeous place.
