Lessons from the second day

Anna and I had our 2nd day at Katutura Hospital today. We rounded on many of the same patients that we had met the day before. We are finding that each and every day, we are learning many lessons about medicine here in Namibia. Anna had an experience in which one of the babies who suffered from severe malnutrition had died yesterday. When she came in today, the nurses said, that baby died and that was the end of the conversation. This is very different than the reactions that we have to death at Geisinger. Death is somewhat of a normal occurance here. Also, we have found that we should be very grateful for the resources that we have at Geisinger. The interns here are responsible for all blood draws as well as IV insertions. Also, we often take for granted the diagnostic tests that we have available to us in the United States. There are many patients on the floor that I am rounding on who are waiting weeks to have a CT scan. Anna had a patient who is waiting for an echo until the end of September. In just the first two days here we have not only seen many illnesses and diseases that we do not see in the United States but we have also realized how very lucky we are to have the resources available to us. We are very excited for our day tomorrow since it will be our first day in the OPD (outpatient clinic). More to come tomorrow!

Stacey and Anna