Today was fun, but kind of frustrating. As I've been here I've functioned more like a wandering consultant than a regular med student. This means I don't have to do most of the crappy med student jobs like writing long notes on patients or stating 10 causes of atrial fibrillation. I mainly talk to residents and faculty about patients, asking them about management and then doing physical exams for interesting findings. They know that I understand what's going on, by the type of questions I ask. It's allowed me to be involved with a lot more patients than I would if I were solely responsible for three or four patients (as I would in Michigan). But it also means that I don't have as much autonomy to take a patient and interview them for an hour on my own, because someone else is ultimately handling their care. Additionally, I have to be evaluated at the end of the month (and though I only need to pass), I'm not sure that they'll be able to evaluate me fully.
Today I tried to get a little more involved. During rounds I tried answering some of the questions that the attending was asking the Ghanaian med students, but I was kind of scolded and told to hang out in the back of the group with the house officers/residents. Later on, I tried to pickup a few patients in the ER. I was hoping to get a history and physical and then talk to a resident about it, like I would back home. But every time I found a patient, they had already been seen or claimed by someone else. I could sit down and go through a history and physical exam with them, but why, if someone else has already done it? It seems redundant and silly. I also wanted to try to do some IV's while I'm here, but today was a bust. I finally jumped onto a case and offered to the IV, but after getting set-up (which seems to involve gathering a million random supplies from various carts in the ED) I couldn't find any decent veins on the man's arms. Additionally, he was simultaneously getting interviewed by another med student and having an EKG done by a resident. His family was standing there and he was in the middle of a hot, crowded room; not the best circumstance to try to place an IV. So, when I couldn't find any vessels (and I mean none, if there was one, I would have gone for it) I passed it along to the house officer. I was a little relieved to find that he had trouble finding a vein and when I left, they were still trying to get the IV in, after more than 5 pokes.
Tomorrow is clinic which is a little more ordered and should allow me to pick up patients easier. I can't believe I'm complaining about being treated more like a resident/consultant than a medical student.
Tonight, Kags and I head to Champs for trivia.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Kags Gets Hit By a Car
So as I've previously suggested to others, walking in Ghana should be an Olympic Sport. It is one intense obstacle course out there. Areas of pavement looking like sidewalks appear and disappear at random. Open sewers (basically wide ditches) abound. Tiles and covers for these sewers are cracked or crumble at the slightest touch. And everywhere (even when there are sidewalks and you're not just walking on the side of the road) fast cars, bikes, people carrying big, heavy things on their head, and coconut carts come far too close for comfort to innocent pedestrians such as yours truly. Certain injury and death lie everywhere. I've walked plenty in the big cities and small towns of India and thought that pedestrianism as a way of life was rather perilous there, but it just doesn't stand up to Ghana, mainly because everyone is just going faster here.
Case in point, I was leaving the US Consulate last Friday morning and walking on a small, quiet street without a sidewalk. There were no other people or cars on the street. All of a sudden a car zips alongside me and scrapes off about half of the skin from my left elbow with its sideview mirror. I threw an absolute tantrum, chiefly because there was no good reason for the idiot to be driving so close to me and I was in plain sight. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful that I didn't get hit by anything more substantial on the car, but it is a terrible way to start out any day to get hit by a car.
In happier news the third time proved the charm in terms of getting my residency documents notarized at US Consulate here. The Consulate really put the DMV's of the US to shame in terms of the pinnacle of inefficiency they've reached. But I'll get into my tribulations there at another time.
The random food options here are terrific . And even after 2 weeks I can't get over how cheap it all is. For 50 cents each morning I can get myself a fresh omelette in a grilled sandwich. For 25 cents I can have a coconut artistically sliced up to that I can suck out the water and then eat the meat. I'm really going to miss those coconuts.
Case in point, I was leaving the US Consulate last Friday morning and walking on a small, quiet street without a sidewalk. There were no other people or cars on the street. All of a sudden a car zips alongside me and scrapes off about half of the skin from my left elbow with its sideview mirror. I threw an absolute tantrum, chiefly because there was no good reason for the idiot to be driving so close to me and I was in plain sight. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful that I didn't get hit by anything more substantial on the car, but it is a terrible way to start out any day to get hit by a car.
In happier news the third time proved the charm in terms of getting my residency documents notarized at US Consulate here. The Consulate really put the DMV's of the US to shame in terms of the pinnacle of inefficiency they've reached. But I'll get into my tribulations there at another time.
The random food options here are terrific . And even after 2 weeks I can't get over how cheap it all is. For 50 cents each morning I can get myself a fresh omelette in a grilled sandwich. For 25 cents I can have a coconut artistically sliced up to that I can suck out the water and then eat the meat. I'm really going to miss those coconuts.
Pizza and an Unexpected Visitor
Last night Kags and I went to Mama Mia's and had pizza. It wasn't bad, although it was probably the most expensive meal we've had here. It was a going away celebration for two of the British medical students. Then while walking back we passed a bootleg CD/DVD shop selling notably discounted movies (often up to 9 movies on the same disk). It was questionable that they were playable on American players since many of them didn't have region codes, but I guess 5 dollars for 9 movies is worth a gamble.
Today I worked in clinic this morning and then met up with a visiting faculty member from Michigan. Kags and I have ditched our whitecoats, ties, and undershirts in favor of light, breathable, short sleeve button downs in an effort to keep cool. The faculty member had not done so and looking at him I realized how I must look to the vast majority of Ghanians . . . like a sweaty white guy. Unfortunately he had to head back tonight, but it was nice seeing a familiar face. And it seems that the collaboration between my home school and the medical school here will continue, which is good news.
And, we've past the halfway mark here which is eventful. We've survived in a developing country for two weeks and each day is now a day closer to seeing loved ones. Kags and I hope to have a good time this weekend, travelling to a botanical garden.
Today I worked in clinic this morning and then met up with a visiting faculty member from Michigan. Kags and I have ditched our whitecoats, ties, and undershirts in favor of light, breathable, short sleeve button downs in an effort to keep cool. The faculty member had not done so and looking at him I realized how I must look to the vast majority of Ghanians . . . like a sweaty white guy. Unfortunately he had to head back tonight, but it was nice seeing a familiar face. And it seems that the collaboration between my home school and the medical school here will continue, which is good news.
And, we've past the halfway mark here which is eventful. We've survived in a developing country for two weeks and each day is now a day closer to seeing loved ones. Kags and I hope to have a good time this weekend, travelling to a botanical garden.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Mamma Mia and Daisy Dukes
It's Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry's and I'm thousands of miles away. Damn it. I tried looking for Ben and Jerry's in the store, but all they have is "Fan-milk" ice cream. I guess it'll have to do.
In other news, Kags has had an incredibly challenging time trying to get some documents notarized for his residency.
I spent much of Sunday night watching TV with my Ghanaian (and many Nigerian) housemates. Apparently Dukes of Hazard does translate internationally as a funny movie, although there appears to be a difference of opinion as to how cute Jessica Simpson is.
Last night we found out that there is a woman who comes to the hostel at 6pm and sells dinners for students. Apparently she comes every day. This would have been helpful to know, as we've been wandering around the neighborhood every night for the last two weeks searching for something to eat. And while it's been fun to explore, sometimes it's nice to eat in. Apparently our fellow medical students from Britain were taking cabs to Osu every night before they found this out. (Visiting medical students could definitely use a guide to Korle-Bu for things like this) We still haven't found a pizza place that delivers, although tonight we'll be going to Mama Mia's, a (mainly ex-pat) pizza place in Osu as a going-away gathering for some of the British medical students who are here.
And, as a testament to how well I'm gelling with my medical coworkers, last week one of the residents said I had a "very positive aura".
In other news, Kags has had an incredibly challenging time trying to get some documents notarized for his residency.
I spent much of Sunday night watching TV with my Ghanaian (and many Nigerian) housemates. Apparently Dukes of Hazard does translate internationally as a funny movie, although there appears to be a difference of opinion as to how cute Jessica Simpson is.
Last night we found out that there is a woman who comes to the hostel at 6pm and sells dinners for students. Apparently she comes every day. This would have been helpful to know, as we've been wandering around the neighborhood every night for the last two weeks searching for something to eat. And while it's been fun to explore, sometimes it's nice to eat in. Apparently our fellow medical students from Britain were taking cabs to Osu every night before they found this out. (Visiting medical students could definitely use a guide to Korle-Bu for things like this) We still haven't found a pizza place that delivers, although tonight we'll be going to Mama Mia's, a (mainly ex-pat) pizza place in Osu as a going-away gathering for some of the British medical students who are here.
And, as a testament to how well I'm gelling with my medical coworkers, last week one of the residents said I had a "very positive aura".
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Lets All Go to the Movies
Kags and I had a nice day. We slept in, and then took a tro-tro to Nkrumah Circle. At one point on the tro-tro of 30 people, a random man stood up and started preaching something in one of the regional dialects. I asked the girl sitting next to me (who couldn't help but laugh at the speech) and she said he was talking about "youths". Then he started selling his pamphlet, entitled "How to have a successful marriage" or some such name, to people on the tro-tro. The girl who was laughing, bought one.
Then we headed to the National Museum to see some cool artifacts (chief stools/staffs), photos of traditional dance, paintings by local artists, and other stuff. The museum was very hot with poor ventilation, so we didn't stay too long; although it wasn't large enough to necessitate a long visit. Then we walked through town, headed through the market and then walked through Usher Town and James Town. At Usher Town, we visited Fort Usher. The fort is closed to visitors, but if you pay a "fee" to the caretaker he'll give you a tour. It was interesting to see, since the fort was initially built by Dutch and much later used as a prison by the government of Ghana (holding political prisoners including past Presidents during coups), and then most recently used to house some Sudanese refugees. The outer design was similar to other slave forts we've seen, but much of the building had been updated as a prison. There were still many paintings on the prison walls (Jesus, girls in bikini's, etc.) from prison period, and some of the Sudanese had written in Arabic on the walls. Think Shawshank Redemption meets Slave Fortress meets refugee camp. Kags liked the raw feel of it (not as sanitized as the other forts we've visited which were cleaned up for visitors), but I had trouble disentangling the history. I felt like it was mainly a tour of a prison, especially since we didn't see the underground tunnels used to transport slaves and part of the fort was closed off for renovation (for when it will be open to the public, sometime in the next couple decades).
Then we tro-troed it home for dinner and a movie. There's a theater that just opened up near Korle Bu and we went to see Lumumba. We were worried that a Ghanaian theater would get stifling hot, but when we stepped into the theater we found out that we were back outside. The whole thing was a large courtyard, with screen at one end and rows of benches. It was kind of like a sit down drive-in. And with the breeze it was a very enjoyable experience. At around 50 cents for a show, we'll probably head back at some point.
PS You may wonder why all the posting tonight. It's mainly because the power is once again out this evening and thus we have sought working fans in the internet cafe.
Then we headed to the National Museum to see some cool artifacts (chief stools/staffs), photos of traditional dance, paintings by local artists, and other stuff. The museum was very hot with poor ventilation, so we didn't stay too long; although it wasn't large enough to necessitate a long visit. Then we walked through town, headed through the market and then walked through Usher Town and James Town. At Usher Town, we visited Fort Usher. The fort is closed to visitors, but if you pay a "fee" to the caretaker he'll give you a tour. It was interesting to see, since the fort was initially built by Dutch and much later used as a prison by the government of Ghana (holding political prisoners including past Presidents during coups), and then most recently used to house some Sudanese refugees. The outer design was similar to other slave forts we've seen, but much of the building had been updated as a prison. There were still many paintings on the prison walls (Jesus, girls in bikini's, etc.) from prison period, and some of the Sudanese had written in Arabic on the walls. Think Shawshank Redemption meets Slave Fortress meets refugee camp. Kags liked the raw feel of it (not as sanitized as the other forts we've visited which were cleaned up for visitors), but I had trouble disentangling the history. I felt like it was mainly a tour of a prison, especially since we didn't see the underground tunnels used to transport slaves and part of the fort was closed off for renovation (for when it will be open to the public, sometime in the next couple decades).
Then we tro-troed it home for dinner and a movie. There's a theater that just opened up near Korle Bu and we went to see Lumumba. We were worried that a Ghanaian theater would get stifling hot, but when we stepped into the theater we found out that we were back outside. The whole thing was a large courtyard, with screen at one end and rows of benches. It was kind of like a sit down drive-in. And with the breeze it was a very enjoyable experience. At around 50 cents for a show, we'll probably head back at some point.
PS You may wonder why all the posting tonight. It's mainly because the power is once again out this evening and thus we have sought working fans in the internet cafe.
A Trip to Vienna
Last night's "clubbing' did not happen. Unfortunately when the time to meet up and head out came, no one was around. Matt and Kags were left to assume that everyone went out for dinner first and then out to the club. This might have been avoided if a phone were available, but sadly we have no phone. One word of advice for those travelling to Ghana, bring a cell phone. Everyone here seems to have one and if you are worried about the roaming charges, you can always buy a Ghanaian cell phone chip to turn your phone into a local phone.
But Matt and Kags decided to head out on their own for a good time. We headed to Nkrumah circle, one of the roundabouts on the road around Accra. I should say that Accra is full of roundabouts, which I find to be horrible, dangerous, scary remnants of British colonialism. I'm pleased the US never fell in love with them. And whenever I see one, I'm always reminded of the scene from National Lampoon's European Vacation ("look kids, Big Ben, Parliament). The street was full of people enjoying the cool breeze with vendors of food and liquor everywhere. It appears Accra must not have an open beverage container law. The main kind of food stand we've found here (outside of the shacks that serve as restaurants known as "chop houses") serves two kinds of kabobs: one is a spiced type of beef hot dog and the other is goat meat (although after enjoying one, a random bystander told Kags he thought it was dog meat). We weren't really up for drinking in the street (I should say there were some tables for people to sit at so it wasn't like everyone was sipping their 40's out of paper bags). We headed into the Vienna Casino for some pool and drinks.
The Casino part of the Vienna Casino consisted of a roulette wheel and some video poker machines, neither of which Kags and I played. And at the pool tables was an interesting mix of Ghanaians and ex-pats (white guys). We sat and people watched for a while, wondering if any of the young Ghanaian women with the middle aged white guys were escorts. At one point in the night, they handed out raffle tickets and then they would randomly select people to spin a big wheel (a la the price is right) for prizes (e.g. 10,000 cedis free credit at the casino). We didn't really get to "win big" though as all of the raffle tickets they picked were letters ("RF") and I had raffle ticket "436". Makes you wonder if it's fixed. All in all, Kags and I had a nice night and didn't even have to go clubbing (with neither of us really likes, but felt the need to be social with others).
But Matt and Kags decided to head out on their own for a good time. We headed to Nkrumah circle, one of the roundabouts on the road around Accra. I should say that Accra is full of roundabouts, which I find to be horrible, dangerous, scary remnants of British colonialism. I'm pleased the US never fell in love with them. And whenever I see one, I'm always reminded of the scene from National Lampoon's European Vacation ("look kids, Big Ben, Parliament). The street was full of people enjoying the cool breeze with vendors of food and liquor everywhere. It appears Accra must not have an open beverage container law. The main kind of food stand we've found here (outside of the shacks that serve as restaurants known as "chop houses") serves two kinds of kabobs: one is a spiced type of beef hot dog and the other is goat meat (although after enjoying one, a random bystander told Kags he thought it was dog meat). We weren't really up for drinking in the street (I should say there were some tables for people to sit at so it wasn't like everyone was sipping their 40's out of paper bags). We headed into the Vienna Casino for some pool and drinks.
The Casino part of the Vienna Casino consisted of a roulette wheel and some video poker machines, neither of which Kags and I played. And at the pool tables was an interesting mix of Ghanaians and ex-pats (white guys). We sat and people watched for a while, wondering if any of the young Ghanaian women with the middle aged white guys were escorts. At one point in the night, they handed out raffle tickets and then they would randomly select people to spin a big wheel (a la the price is right) for prizes (e.g. 10,000 cedis free credit at the casino). We didn't really get to "win big" though as all of the raffle tickets they picked were letters ("RF") and I had raffle ticket "436". Makes you wonder if it's fixed. All in all, Kags and I had a nice night and didn't even have to go clubbing (with neither of us really likes, but felt the need to be social with others).
Friday, April 13, 2007
Trivia Night
So, last night Kags and I went out with some students from the UK and Germany. They took us to a sports bar, which could have been right out of the US. We had chicken nuggets and Guinness (although there was also the required Star Beer). There was also trivia which we did pretty well at (although we didn't win). Our team was appropriately (and morbidly) named "I see dead people". I was able to use some of my mad movie skills to remember that Ernest Borgnine won best Actor for Marty and Kags was able to answer some trivia about Zoolander. The other sign that this was an ex-pat bar were the prices, charging twice as much for beer as any other place I've visited so far. Although, even in Ghana that means I had to pay about 2$ for a pint. A fun time was had by all. Kags and I were starting to get a little tired of sitting around the hostel, without power, playing cards in the dark. One of the other students even commented about that, saying that we "looked bored, sitting around playing cards while mosquito's buzzed about us". Tonight we'll probably go out with some American students who are going "clubbing". While I'm not normally a clubber, it'll be good to have fun with other visiting students and I've seen Saturday Night at the Roxbury enough to perfect my dancing.
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