Blog #2: Our First Week in the Hospital

Buenos Tardes. This is going to be a short post as we are just about to get on a bus to travel to Torotoro National Park in a few minutes. Furthermore, this post will be written in much less literary splendor than Jude's previous one, so please lower your expectations before reading on.

Our first week in the city has been absolutely amazing. The weather continues to live up to its expectations, and I feel that we have successfully learned how to take advantages of some of what Cochabamba has to offer including restaurants, markets, nightlife, etc. We have now spent four days shadowing different physicians at Hospital Viedma, and all of us are having a blast.

I have spent most of my time with a pediatric endocrinologist named Doctora Rodriguez in part because she is fluent in English. The patient population that Dra. Rodriquez has seen in just four days has made my hospital experience so far very exciting. Iodine deficiency is very common in Bolivia, so hypothyroidism has been a very common finding. Furthermore, I have gotten some exposure to patients with Grave's disease, metabolic acidosis due to Coca leaf tea (an unfortunately common folk remedy for babies with diarrhea), and congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to an enzyme deficiency. I have come to realize that the doctors here rely a lot more on physical diagnosis tests, as the laboratory diagnostic testing is not quite available to the level that we have it in the states.

I have spent my remaining time with a 5th year medical student, which are what everyone calls interns here in Bolivia. Vladimir is an intern currently rotating on the pediatric internal medicine ward, the pediatric emergency department, and the neonatology ward. Currently Vlady is just about to finish up a 36 hour shift at the hospital. These long hour shifts are the norm for the interns, and I was shocked to learn that he sometimes will only have a few 15 minute breaks while working these long hours. Vladimir is also covering for one of his buddies 36 hour shifts this weekend, which means that he will be working another 36 hour shift after he gets 2-3 hours of rest in between. I am very glad that medical school in the U.S. is not quite this intense. It has also been very exciting following Vladimir around the hospital, and I have gotten to see many devastatingly sick babies with diseases such as dengue fever, HIV, and whooping cough.

Jude has spent the week with Dr. Romero, a plastic surgeon who works in the Children's burn clinic. She has seen many different surgeries so far, and I'm sure she will blog about her experiences very soon. This week was Kiandra's first experience watching a surgery, and has now been exposed to several types including an orthopedic surgery, a hysterectomy, and cesarian section. Alix P. has spent most of her time on the OB wards, witnessing several births and surgeries as well.

We will be sure to update the blog with our experiences at Torotoro National Park after this weekend. Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Alex W.