Greetings from Mexico

[i61164]

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I started shadowing an ER doc today in Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca. He says the most common things they see in the ER are scorpion bites and car accident victims. I don't know how there can be so many car wrecks when there are speed bumps every few 100 feet on just about every single road.

We saw one patient tonight and the doc told me her problem was "neurosis." I didn't understand why he thought that though, because my Spanish isn't good enough. It's getting better though.

 

[Anasazi23]

I started shadowing an ER doc today in Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca. He says the most common things they see in the ER are scorpion bites and car accident victims. I don't know how there can be so many car wrecks when there are speed bumps every few 100 feet on just about every single road.

We saw one patient tonight and the doc told me her problem was "neurosis." I didn't understand why he thought that though, because my Spanish isn't good enough. It's getting better though.

I love that diagnosis...I use it all the time.

....seriously.

I long for the days of DSM I.

 

[i61164]

Today we had a couple of scorpion bites (which are no big deal here). A surgeon removed what they called a cystolipoma from some guy's shoulder. It was at least the size of a golf ball and I think in the US it would have been done in an OR instead of in the ER.

Tomorrow I am going to the OR with the surgeon. Any advice on how to survive standing in the OR for hours? I am going to bring some Advil with me in case my back starts hurting (which it will). I could walk for hours with no problem, but standing is murder. Just to give you an idea, I'm 6'2" and 180 lbs.

 

[Anasazi23]

Today we had a couple of scorpion bites (which are no big deal here). A surgeon removed what they called a cystolipoma from some guy's shoulder. It was at least the size of a golf ball and I think in the US it would have been done in an OR instead of in the ER.

Tomorrow I am going to the OR with the surgeon. Any advice on how to survive standing in the OR for hours? I am going to bring some Advil with me in case my back starts hurting (which it will). I could walk for hours with no problem, but standing is murder. Just to give you an idea, I'm 6'2" and 180 lbs.

I remember the mistake of signing up to scrub into a whipple when I was a med student. I also can walk and run forever, but standing in one spot makes my back ache (I blame it on old hockey injuries) and I become incredibly bored and have an unbelievable urge to just get the hell out of there.

Advice? All the normal rehashed stuff, I guess...shift your weight often, wear good shoes, blah blah. It still sucks.

 

[i61164]

I took 2 Advil before entering the OR. I already have relatively new inserts in my shoes. It still sucked. I was there for 2 surgeries, an appy and a gall bladder. It doesn't help that I'm like a foot taller than everyone else here in Mexico. I don't know how I'll survive 12 weeks of surgery when I'm a third year. OBGYN probably won't be a real picnic either. I was only in there for 4.5 hours. I can only imagine what 12, 24, or 48 hours is like.

 

[Doc Samson]

Today we had a couple of scorpion bites (which are no big deal here). A surgeon removed what they called a cystolipoma from some guy's shoulder. It was at least the size of a golf ball and I think in the US it would have been done in an OR instead of in the ER.

Tomorrow I am going to the OR with the surgeon. Any advice on how to survive standing in the OR for hours? I am going to bring some Advil with me in case my back starts hurting (which it will). I could walk for hours with no problem, but standing is murder. Just to give you an idea, I'm 6'2" and 180 lbs.

Never, ever, ever lock your knees. Keep 'em flexed just a little and you'll really boost that venous return. Locked knees for a lengthy surgery = venous pooling = you waking up on the floor of the OR to the disdainful look of the scrub nurse. This was my first OR experience as a pre-med observing a renal harvest and transplant.

 

[i61164]

Never, ever, ever lock your knees. Keep 'em flexed just a little and you'll really boost that venous return. Locked knees for a lengthy surgery = venous pooling = you waking up on the floor of the OR to the disdainful look of the scrub nurse. This was my first OR experience as a pre-med observing a renal harvest and transplant.

Man that sucks. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[mdnsw]

Are you still in Mexico? We'll be sending you 12 million more patients really soon. (crosses fingers) It should be a great learning experience.

 

[i61164]

Are you still in Mexico? We'll be sending you 12 million more patients really soon. (crosses fingers) It should be a great learning experience.

What does that mean?

To answer your question, yes I am still here, but I'll be back in the good ol U.S.of A. in a couple weeks.