Day 16

This morning, thanks to the suggestion and contacts of MaryBetty I went to the Children’s hospital to observe. It was awesome. The residents were friendly and happy to have me there. They all had questions and seemed to enjoy sharing about their program. They let me get my hands in to help some and discussed patients with me…in spanglish. There was a patient in the PICU with a hemoglobin of 1.1 (for those of you who don’t know we prefer hemoglobins over 7 and are happiest when they are above 11). There was also a baby with microcephalia from Toxoplasmosis. The hospital, like any childrens hospital is brightly decorated. Their wards are divided into sections based on disease, including but not limited to: infectious disease, orthopedics and burn units. I wonder if that cuts down on secondary infections since the nurses dealing with abscesses are not dealing with the children with burns…
I had morning coffee and lunch with the residents (with only 3, then later 4 patients in the PICU things were a little slow). Then I followed them on sign out. In the US we sit, hidden in our room with our lists to sign out patients out and the floor residents cover the floor and the neonatology residents cover the NICU. Here, they do walking sign out of all of the patients in the hospital except, it seems, the PICU. I think that there could definitely be some benefit to changing our sign out to walking, especially when we are in the new hospital and each patient has their own room…that’s another thing. No private rooms here except for the infections that need to be separated and the burns that need to be separated. Otherwise, multiple large rooms with multiple beds. I have noticed at Hospital Japones and now at this hospital that the parents seem to bond with each other and help each other on some level.
Now, off to take call at hospital Japones. Tonight, Karenina, Raquels friend, is in the ER so I am looking forward to it.