Sobrevivendo turns into disfrutando!

Today is Saturday...I picked up an extra shift and worked this afternoon - it turned out to be a good decision! When I first got there I was slightly flustered, and in a weird mood - a "what the heck am I doing here??" kind of mood. I was feeling that way because at times I get frustrated with speaking. Luckily, that mood quickly passed. I worked with three coworkers who will probably end up being my favorite coworkers (at least as far as I can tell for now). I did a good job with almost everything I did during my shift (minus missing one IV), and feel like my understanding when I'm listening to people is increasing so much - for example, being able to converse on the phone.

That was something rare for me last week...I answered the phone and was instantly tonguetied and couldn't understand anything the person on the other line was saying. It's one thing speaking a different language when the person is standing in front of you and you can watch their mouths and body language and all that...but when it is ONLY the words, it's so different! And today, I proudly answered the phone several times...small victories!!

I also successfully opened several ampules without injuring myself! One of the younger doctors, Hector, showed me some tricks of the trade...warming up the ampule and flicking the top a couple times - really makes it easier.  From what it sounds like, I should be able to request only working nights, so I think I might do that after next week (depending on how my first night shift goes).

These are a couple of photos I stole from someone's facebook page from the brigade.  I will be certain to take pictures of the ER sometime next week (probably when I work night shift). Get excited!!

No parasites,

just cuts on my finger from trying to open glass ampules all day!!!  ALL of our meds in the ER are in glass ampules...thus I have three new gashes on my right hand, because I'm retarded. I had no problem opening them the other days I worked, but today it was as though I had Incredible Hulk hands and just crushed the tops of the ampules every time.

We had a lady come in our ER today who was satting 49-51% on room air, her fingers and nose were purple, and I took one look at her and told the tech (who's also only been working since monday)  "this lady needs some oxygen and RT orita"... We actually do have oxygen on the wall! She was looking much better and satting 91-92 within a few minutes. I learned that we wash and reuse masks and the little part that holds the Atrovent treatments.

One of the doctors, Doctora Lucano, literally looks like Jenny Boget and I can't help but think of Jenny every time I work with her!! There's also an EMT who looks just like Diana Marquez...

We call our saline locks "DISH"s, but I have no idea what DISH stands for.  and today I did an EKG for the first time... it's the old school kind where we clean off the ankles and wrists with alcohol and put clips on them for limb leads, the other leads are metal and they have suction bulbs on top..so when we take them off the patients there are 6 purple circles where the leads were suctioned to the patient, like EKG hickies.

Next week I start working in rotation; one morning shift (0730-1330), one afternoon (1330-1930), and one night shift (1930-0730).  I'm hoping to ask to only work nights, but I don't know if they will allow me to do that. That would be ideal though.

Hopefully tomorrow I won't add any more gashes to my fingers...

Getting a physical in Quito...

...is nothing like getting a physical in the States.  Today, for example, I showed up at my "doctor's appointment" 10 minutes early...and ended up waiting 20 minutes after when my appointment was supposed to be when I finally called him to see where he was. He met me somewhere different in the hospital than where his office technically was.  30+ minutes wasted while I was supposed to be working in the ER (which was only being run by 1 nurse and 2 techs at that point - brand new, less than 1 week experience techs, that is). 

So, I finally meet "the doctor" in charge of occupational health for the hospital. He's actually only a resident. We walked back down to the ER, he circled a lab test, a urine test, and a feces test (to check for parasites), on a sheet of paper.  That concluded my physical.

So I ask him, do I have to pay for these tests? Thinking, they are going to be expensive and I am an employee, so certainly the hospital will cover it (the physical is necessary to getting a contract of employment).  He doesn't know the answer, so we go to human resources. There we wait, and wait. Finally we ask, and the lady sends us to Trabajo Social, social work for employees. The guy, who is brand new, helps us out and gives me a 30% discount for who knows what reason, and we bring my little paper to Lab, so I can pay/get my tests run.  Well, the lab cashier is confused about the 30% thing, so me and the doctor have to go back up to Social work and get it figured out. then we go back to lab, I pay for the exams (a whopping $8.19), and I am told to come back tomorrow...with my urine and stool sample.  But first, I have to go to the Pharmacy and buy a urine cup and stool sample cup (both for only a quarter). 

All in all, I was gone from the ER for about 2 hours...and that is my experience with physicals in Ecuador (although it's not over yet, as I still have the daunting task of collecting my own excrement and traveling down Rumichaca Avenue with it in hand...hopefully the mote I ate today off the street didn't give me parasites, or I see some Albendazole in my future...)

Notre Dame Brigade

In the tower of La Basílica and a little girl who was so adorable in the community Los Músculos y Rieles!