December 30, 2014

December 30, 2014

The hospital was pretty packed again when we went in, and I had told Minel I was interested in pediatrics, so he placed me with the pediatrician Dr. Pluviose for the morning. Compared to the ER, it was much more like any normal primary care office..I was actually surprised how similar to the US it was. One big difference was that the doctor saw all of his patients and sent them for any necessary labs, and once he got through the initial appointments he called each patient back to discuss their lab results and write prescriptions. It makes for a long stay for the patients, but he explained to me that they come from all over the area and some from far away, and asking patients to come back in a few days for a follow up isn't always realistic. Even though I couldn't actively help much and I mostly just observed (although I did get a screaming baby to stop crying and fall asleep, so that was my success for the day), Dr. Pluviose did an awesome job of explaining each patient's case to me and why he was prescribing certain medications, etc. Since its a tropical area this probably shouldn't have surprised me, but a large portion of children who come in with abdominal pain have worms/parasites in their stomachs..kind of interesting to think how people in the US would react to that. There were also a few patients he tested for anemia, pointing out that some families here have 6 or 7 kids and not enough money to feed them all. After seeing some pretty sad things in the ER and the rest of the hospital, it was reassuring to see that people who need a simple checkup or just have a cough or cold can come in, get lab tests, and be given a prescription. Minel showed us the hospital's lab and pharmacy and they were really pretty impressive, so most people who come to Bethel can get the treatment they need.

After lunch Minel introduced us to the coordinator of Bethel's HIV/AIDS program. He also speaks English, and talked to us about what Bethel is doing not only to treat HIV and AIDS but also to raise awareness and prevention in the community. It was interesting to learn that compared to the US, there's not really a stigma attached to AIDS, and people who have it don't tend to feel outcasted or ashamed. Education and awareness seems to be a growing part of medicine in America, and it was great to see that even though Haiti is a third world country, the same efforts are being made here.

Minel was going to give us a tour of another part of Fond-des-Negres, but I guess it was a big market day and a not a good time to brave walking through the streets, so the rest of the day/night was really pretty uneventful. We're not sure why we get so tired in the middle of the day, but we did some blog writing, talking with Daphline, and relaxing until dinner. Tonight's dinner menu: spaghetti porridge...I'm not sure who came up with that, but it's absolutely delicious. So Michelle and I are coming back determined to make Americans like porridge. It was another early night after that, we can't believe we only have two full days left!