For the past 4 months, I have done very little medical wise. That all changed this Tues when I got to go back into the hospital. I had apprehensions of not knowing if my Pidgin would come back, and if I had forgotten how to be a doctor. Before I could think too long, Bill was introducing me to patients who had acute leukemia, miliary tuberculosis, malaria, meliodosis and sepsis. My head was spinning as I tried to wrap my mind about each of these diseases and what I needed to do to care for my patients. In the process, I was reminded of why I love medicine here so much, you never know what is going to walk through your door, and it is usually not something you would expect.
As soon as I opened my mouth to speak to my first pt, my fear of not remembering Pidgin left and it came as naturally as riding a bike. I spent some time getting to know my patients and praying for them on the ward, and then got to go back to my clinic room. Here I enjoyed seeing a number of patients throughout the day who came with various complaints. Medicine came back pretty quickly as started seeing pts with TB, HIV, pericardial effusions, PNA, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fractures in need of reduction and more. I also got to see some patients that I had been caring for prior to leaving, so it was nice to see them again and find out how they have been doing. It has been great to be back at work and to serve once again here in PNG and with my colleagues. Thanks for all your prayers.
For the past 4 months, I have done very little medical wise. That all changed this Tues when I got to go back into the hospital. I had apprehensions of not knowing if my Pidgin would come back, and if I had forgotten how to be a doctor. Before I could think too long, Bill was introducing me to patients who had acute leukemia, miliary tuberculosis, malaria, meliodosis and sepsis. My head was spinning as I tried to wrap my mind about each of these diseases and what I needed to do to care for my patients. In the process, I was reminded of why I love medicine here so much, you never know what is going to walk through your door, and it is usually not something you would expect. 
As soon as I opened my mouth to speak to my first pt, my fear of not remembering Pidgin left and it came as naturally as riding a bike. I spent some time getting to know my patients and praying for them on the ward, and then got to go back to my clinic room. Here I enjoyed seeing a number of patients throughout the day who came with various complaints. Medicine came back pretty quickly as started seeing pts with TB, HIV, pericardial effusions, PNA, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fractures in need of reduction and more. I also got to see some patients that I had been caring for prior to leaving, so it was nice to see them again and find out how they have been doing. It has been great to be back at work and to serve once again here in PNG and with my colleagues. Thanks for all your prayers.