First week in PNG

We have been at the hospital now for a week. Ric has been helping problem solve electrical problems around the hospital site. I have been helping on ward rounds and working in out patient clinic. The patients are quite sick. This hospital is a referral center so all the patients have been seen elsewhere prior to being treated here. This may be a nursing post in a rural part of the province or another clinic. After a week I have seen a lot of TB and Typhoid. The hospital has 4 wards with 32 beds in the medical, surgical and pediatric wards and 40 beds in the labor and delivery ward.

I have been assigned to the medical ward and am starting to get to know the routine – rounds at 8.00 every morning and then clinic after.

They introduced an EMR (Electronic medical record ) mid Dec so all the staff are getting used to it. As a result of this, they were only seeing people in follow up in out- patients, so the load has been much lighter Next week it will open up to new patients so I expect it will be a lot busier. I was given my own small laptop to carry from place to place.

I have been working through a translator and have been quite slow but hopefully as I get used to the computer and patients I will become more of a help. Here are a few of chest xrays I took today in clinic. The first lady has TB and the second miliary TB and typhoid

I was working in the emergency department today. These are some of the patients we saw. (in a 5 hour period)

9 year old with typhoid

lady with large amount of fluid in her abdomen that I drained …(first time).

5 year old came in who had been run over by a car – had a fractured rib and a tension pneumothorax so a chest tube was inserted.

Guy with shortness of breath – After a Chest Xray and ultrasound TB diagnosed

Lady was flown in by MAF as she lived in a very rural community. She had been attacked by a drug addict and had multiple stab wounds.

2 month old baby with diarrhea and fever.

I did find some time this week to bake cookies. Hopefully we will get to the local market to get some fruit this weekend.