Well it's crazy to think that I only have 1 more week here in India. My time in India went really fast at some moments and then other times it feels like I've been here forever and this is my life. It will be strange to re-adjust to life in the US since I've been gone for 8 weeks and haven't really dealt with a fast-paced world for awhile. I am looking forward to being back home though and seeing everyone again.
Monday:
I was posted in surgery again and since Courtney wasn't feeling well in the morning I went by myself. I talked with one of the professors in the outpatient department and we discussed some similarities and differences between the US and India in regards to surgery. He also asked me about my thoughts on India and what kinds of things that I have enjoyed about the country. It was a really good discussion and I enjoyed seeing his take on the Indian healthcare and education system. He seemed to think that India would be a lot further along if they did their own research instead of relying on other countries. He also thought the rural areas would be better off if there was a way to recruit more specialized surgeons and physicians to these areas. I think having qualified healthcare providers in rural areas is something that all countries struggle with since they may not have the population to support these specializations or they may not have the lifestyle that these providers are looking for. I then went to the OT and watched a prostate resection surgery. It was an interesting surgery to watch and really didn't have any blood and there wasn't any cutting that I could see so I liked that a lot better. In the afternoon Courntey and I went to the outpatient department and talked with a few of the residents and professors, but mainly just observed what they were doing.
Tuesday and Wednesday:
We were posted in gynecology. We started out in the outpatient department and observed the prenatal check-ups that were happening. Once the professor that we were supposed to meet up with came she told us a little bit about prenatal care in India and then asked us what we were hoping to get out of the experience. We told her that we wanted to see both a natural birth and c-section and she said that a c-section was scheduled for this morning so we were able to go and see that. We got to the OT and changed into scrubs and then went in to watch the c-section. I started getting a cold this day and I couldn't breathe very well so this along with the crowded, hot room and the cutting I didn't last too long watching the surgery. Both Courtney and I were in and out of the room quite a bit since we were both feeling a little lightheaded. We were able to watch most of the beginning and saw her get an epidural, and then we got sprayed with some amniotic fluid, and the baby came out so quick I didn't even see it. But I did see it after it was in the doctors arms. When we decided we'd had enough we headed to the labor room and got there just in time to see a natural birth. The rest of the afternoon no one gave birth while we were sitting in the labor room so we decided to call it a day a little early. Wednesday we were back in the labor room and didn't see any births until the end of the day and then we saw 2 right in a row. I have decided that I'm very glad that I am not a women giving birth in India because while they are in active labor they are in a room with at least 7 beds and then once it is time to give birth they go into the delivery room where there are 3 beds. The doctors and nurses also don't seem to be super compassionate to these women and there is a lot of yelling at them while they are giving birth. The mom is also alone and isn't able to hold her baby after she gives birth so that seems a little sad to me. I am obviously just used to seeing how things are done in the US so that is why this seems different to me. I know that the privacy of things isn't possible in this area when there are so many women who are having babies.
Thursday:
It was India's Independence Day today so we woke up early and went to the flag raising ceremony and then we had the rest of the day off. I spent the day relaxing for the most part I watched a movie, did some journaling, played some card games, and did random other things that I can't really remember. It was nice to have the day off, but really felt like a Saturday so the rest of the week and weekend will be kind of strange.
Friday:
We headed to Pravara's Ayurveda College and Hospital about 100 km away. Ayuveda is India's traditional system of medicine and I wasn't very familiar with it before going to the college. We saw a lot of the crude herbs and minerals that they use to make the products and also learned some about how they are made. We also learned the basics and got an overview of this holistic approach to medicine. They gave us a tour of both the school and hospital and it was a very interesting visit. Since the tradition is carried out through texts in the local language it was a little hard for them at times to translate it into English for us, but overall they did a really good job of explaining things. Once we got back we decided to go to the temple on campus to watch the sunset. It was really pretty even though the sun was partly hidden behind the clouds.
Monday:
I was posted in surgery again and since Courtney wasn't feeling well in the morning I went by myself. I talked with one of the professors in the outpatient department and we discussed some similarities and differences between the US and India in regards to surgery. He also asked me about my thoughts on India and what kinds of things that I have enjoyed about the country. It was a really good discussion and I enjoyed seeing his take on the Indian healthcare and education system. He seemed to think that India would be a lot further along if they did their own research instead of relying on other countries. He also thought the rural areas would be better off if there was a way to recruit more specialized surgeons and physicians to these areas. I think having qualified healthcare providers in rural areas is something that all countries struggle with since they may not have the population to support these specializations or they may not have the lifestyle that these providers are looking for. I then went to the OT and watched a prostate resection surgery. It was an interesting surgery to watch and really didn't have any blood and there wasn't any cutting that I could see so I liked that a lot better. In the afternoon Courntey and I went to the outpatient department and talked with a few of the residents and professors, but mainly just observed what they were doing.
Tuesday and Wednesday:
We were posted in gynecology. We started out in the outpatient department and observed the prenatal check-ups that were happening. Once the professor that we were supposed to meet up with came she told us a little bit about prenatal care in India and then asked us what we were hoping to get out of the experience. We told her that we wanted to see both a natural birth and c-section and she said that a c-section was scheduled for this morning so we were able to go and see that. We got to the OT and changed into scrubs and then went in to watch the c-section. I started getting a cold this day and I couldn't breathe very well so this along with the crowded, hot room and the cutting I didn't last too long watching the surgery. Both Courtney and I were in and out of the room quite a bit since we were both feeling a little lightheaded. We were able to watch most of the beginning and saw her get an epidural, and then we got sprayed with some amniotic fluid, and the baby came out so quick I didn't even see it. But I did see it after it was in the doctors arms. When we decided we'd had enough we headed to the labor room and got there just in time to see a natural birth. The rest of the afternoon no one gave birth while we were sitting in the labor room so we decided to call it a day a little early. Wednesday we were back in the labor room and didn't see any births until the end of the day and then we saw 2 right in a row. I have decided that I'm very glad that I am not a women giving birth in India because while they are in active labor they are in a room with at least 7 beds and then once it is time to give birth they go into the delivery room where there are 3 beds. The doctors and nurses also don't seem to be super compassionate to these women and there is a lot of yelling at them while they are giving birth. The mom is also alone and isn't able to hold her baby after she gives birth so that seems a little sad to me. I am obviously just used to seeing how things are done in the US so that is why this seems different to me. I know that the privacy of things isn't possible in this area when there are so many women who are having babies.
Thursday:
It was India's Independence Day today so we woke up early and went to the flag raising ceremony and then we had the rest of the day off. I spent the day relaxing for the most part I watched a movie, did some journaling, played some card games, and did random other things that I can't really remember. It was nice to have the day off, but really felt like a Saturday so the rest of the week and weekend will be kind of strange.
Friday:
We headed to Pravara's Ayurveda College and Hospital about 100 km away. Ayuveda is India's traditional system of medicine and I wasn't very familiar with it before going to the college. We saw a lot of the crude herbs and minerals that they use to make the products and also learned some about how they are made. We also learned the basics and got an overview of this holistic approach to medicine. They gave us a tour of both the school and hospital and it was a very interesting visit. Since the tradition is carried out through texts in the local language it was a little hard for them at times to translate it into English for us, but overall they did a really good job of explaining things. Once we got back we decided to go to the temple on campus to watch the sunset. It was really pretty even though the sun was partly hidden behind the clouds.
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| She's lost so much weight since being in India |
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| Pumped for the flag raising ceremony |
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| Some of the herbs at the ayruveda college |
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| We decided the cloud looks like a ruffles potato chip |
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