These are some pics of the Tokyo Metro I took back in June. It was simultaneously one of the most impressive and confusing metros I've ever had the pleasure of taking. Enjoy.
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| Clean, efficient, and sooooo complicated. |
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| I can't explain this... |
Monday, January 27, 2014
A Week in Tokyo: Metro
It's been a while since I've posted anything (a few months actually). I'm back in the US now and I've been really busy readjusting to American life and a new town. I only have time to post some pics today, but hopefully I'll be able to put more up in the next few weeks.
These are some pics of the Tokyo Metro I took back in June. It was simultaneously one of the most impressive and confusing metros I've ever had the pleasure of taking. Enjoy.
These are some pics of the Tokyo Metro I took back in June. It was simultaneously one of the most impressive and confusing metros I've ever had the pleasure of taking. Enjoy.
Fun With Food Poisoning (Part Two)
At the clinic they got some fluids in me and put me in a room for
observation overnight. I woke up at about 5 o'clock and called for a
nurse or doctor because I thought I might throw up and needed a waste
bin. Then I was convinced it was going the other direction and I needed a
toilet. But I ended up vomiting into the toilet bowl instead, in front
of all the doctors in nurses and all over my hair.
After
that they moved me to the acute care room and did some more blood
tests. They gave me some antibiotics (I think, I couldn't really
understand what they were saying) and kept me on the IV. The hospital
was kind of a trip--no elevator, equipment straight out of the 70s, and
nurses that wore those weird little white hats. They took good care of
me, but it was like I'd stepped into another decade. (It was not a crazy
as the hospital I visited a few weeks later--but more on that in an
upcoming post).
The doctors were Cambodian, but all spoke English. However, I had some trouble understanding some of the long, technical words they were saying. Every time they rounded on me they tried to explain what was going on, but I kept thinking they were saying I had a "battery" in my stomach. What?!? I eventually figured out they were saying "bacteria." Ah, so it was food poisoning.
This was a relief since I desperately didn't want to be diagnosed with Dengue Fever. It would've really sucked to spend one of my two final months in Cambodia being sick. Instead I only spent 3 days in the hospital and was sent home with two different kinds of antibiotics (I ended up taking only one after I got a second opinion).
Can I just stress the importance of having travel insurance that covers all medical care? My hospital bill was much cheaper than what it would have been in the US, but it was still over $500. Thankfully it was covered, otherwise I would have been in trouble. You are not invincible, and there's a really good chance you're going to get sick while your overseas. Travel insurance is totally worth it.
Anyway, that was my big ordeal. HUGE shout out to Sofia who drove me to the hospital and fended off the moto and tuk tuk drivers. I am so sorry I puked on you. I owe you big time!
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| At the hospital |
The doctors were Cambodian, but all spoke English. However, I had some trouble understanding some of the long, technical words they were saying. Every time they rounded on me they tried to explain what was going on, but I kept thinking they were saying I had a "battery" in my stomach. What?!? I eventually figured out they were saying "bacteria." Ah, so it was food poisoning.
This was a relief since I desperately didn't want to be diagnosed with Dengue Fever. It would've really sucked to spend one of my two final months in Cambodia being sick. Instead I only spent 3 days in the hospital and was sent home with two different kinds of antibiotics (I ended up taking only one after I got a second opinion).
Can I just stress the importance of having travel insurance that covers all medical care? My hospital bill was much cheaper than what it would have been in the US, but it was still over $500. Thankfully it was covered, otherwise I would have been in trouble. You are not invincible, and there's a really good chance you're going to get sick while your overseas. Travel insurance is totally worth it.
Anyway, that was my big ordeal. HUGE shout out to Sofia who drove me to the hospital and fended off the moto and tuk tuk drivers. I am so sorry I puked on you. I owe you big time!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Exploring New Career Paths
Ever since coming to Cambodia and getting my first real taste of the NGO world, I've become increasingly interested in a career in public health or medicine. I was first drawn to public health which could be a great outlet for my interest in humanitarian and international work, and also fits well with my desired major of medical anthropology.
But then I started to think about careers in medicine--not just preventive medicine (public health). What about becoming a nurse or a physician? I had never really considered the possibility before since I've always considered myself to be a social sciences/humanities kind of person. Perhaps I had overlooked a potentially very satisfying and flexible career, one that could provide me with the opportunity to do many of the things I want to do with my life. I love science and people, plus I strangely love to hang out in and around hospitals, since they're so interesting and fast-paced.
So, I decided to really look into what a career in medicine would be like. At the very least my research would give me a better view of the healthcare system, and that's a good thing since I'm going into public health! I wanted to get a better sense of this world, so I did what I do best and started obsessively researching. I started by downloading some books, reading lots of blogs and articles, and interviewing friends and family members.
Some of the things I read were encouraging and exciting, and others were kind of soul-crushing and depressing. While making a good salary is a perk of being a physician, it was not what originally drew me to the idea. But I kept reading about how difficult it is to pay off student loans and the exorbitant costs of malpractice insurance. There seem to be a lot of burnt-out physicians and nurses how seem really embittered. I was kind of disheartened to read article after article about how the "golden age" of physicians was over and how difficult it is to strike a good work-life balance.
But I wanted to think that this was simply the internet being its usual negative self. I knew lots of nurses and a few physicians who seemed really happy with their career choices, so surely it must not be that bad? And I was really interested in physicians working overseas, because that idea was what initially attracted me to the field. Everything is different as an expat, so I imagined that their experiences have to be quite unique.
I put an ad up on one of the online forums for expats living in Phnom Penh that I belong to. I was surprised to get quite a few responses from nurses and doctors working in the city. My first response was from a guy who was an ER nurse in America and was now working with another American to start a "boutique" clinic aimed at westerners living in PP. His wife works for the CDC (they moved here because of her job) and also could provide some insight into the world of public health. I met with them for coffee and they gave me a lot a wonderful advice and insight--they were such a nice couple and both enjoyed their jobs.
So far a lot more promising than the internet...
Then I got a response from a neurosurgeon working in Phnom Penh. He invited me to come shadow him at Preah Kossamak Hosptial where he was a volunteer consultant. I was really excited by this opportunity. He was a US physician who had retired at the age of 50 and decided to spend the rest of his life volunteering his skills to disadvantaged communities around the world. Now that sounded interesting!
I took the morning off from work and had my moto driver take me to the hospital. I was worried that I was going to be late, but managed to find the neurosurgery department quite painlessly. This was unlike any hospital I had ever been in. I walked up three flights of stairs to the neurosurgery department (I don't think there was an elevator in the building, much like the clinic I went to when I had food poisoning) and asked where I could find Dr. Park. I was told he would be there in about 10 minutes, so I waited on a bench in the hallway.
I could easily see into all the hospital rooms along the corridor which had large shuttered windows with no glass and let in a refreshing breeze. The building was old, pretty dingy, and had a very colonial feel to it. Most Americans would probably be a bit horrified to find themselves waiting for brain surgery on a rickety old cot in a room with several other patients and their families and no air conditioning. Its not that the place was really dirty, just very old and very crowded. Later Dr. Park told me that the neurosurgery patients were overflowing into the urology department next door. Most of the patients had been in a moto accident or had an on-the-job injury, and since lots of people don't wear helmets in Phnom Penh, there were a lot of brain/spinal injuries.
After Dr. Park arrived and introduced my to some of his colleagues, we chatted for awhile then started on the morning rounds. I followed the physicians, residents, and medical students around as they assessed each patient and reviewed their charts. There were several people who had lost the use of their limbs, a boy in a coma, and a man with a large chunk of his skull removed. I felt glad that I'd taken human osteology a few quarters before I graduated and knew a bit about the structure of the human spine, but of course I wasn't sure what was going on most of the time. It was still really interesting.
Only one or two of the patients we rounded on had insurance (if you could even call it that). Its not surprising that doctors in Cambodia do not make a very high salary, I looked it up later and the average was about $5,000 a year. That may or may not be low, but its certainly under $10,000 a year. That really puts things into perspective, considering a neurosurgeon in America can make nearly half-a-million a year (before insurance, of course).
Despite this, all of the doctors I met there seemed to be quite knowledgeable and used what resources they had to provide the best care possible to their patients. For example, in the US a surgeon would usually use a drill to remove a portion of a person's skull, here they use a hand saw. Same procedure (for the most part), different tools.
Dr. Park was a very cheerful and outgoing guy, someone who loved to share his knowledge, but was not pompous or aloof (which is something I'd heard was a problem when working with surgeons). He told me that he had originally gone into medicine because his dad was a doctor and he "wanted to make a lot of money." But during medical school he became a Christian and gradually became more humanitarian focused. He quit private practice after 17 years and took his family (wife and two daughters) on a trip around the world. The have three kids now (his wife found out she was expecting their 3rd child while they were in Nepal) and moved to Cambodia this August. He's helping to develop Preak Kossamak's curriculum for the medical students.
After we were finished with the rounds, Dr. Park asked me if I would like to join them in the operating room. HELL YEAH! Its not everyday that you get the opportunity to observe spinal surgery and talk to Cambodian medical students (who were all very nice, by the way). They found me some scrubs and I got to sit in the corner while they preformed the surgery. At the end I got to come up close and watch them close up the wound. I was proud of myself for not fainting or feeling queasy since I'd never done anything like this before. I actually thought it was pretty cool.
Who knows where I'll end up in life, but I am so glad to have had this experience. If anything, its solidified my interest in healthcare and gave me a chance to talk to someone who is following their dreams and helping others. I have to say that Phnom Penh is full of random, cool opportunities like this. It just goes to show that you never know what's possible till you ask; there are so many people who are excited to help you learn more about their careers and passions.
Thank you to Dr. Park and Preah Kossamak Hospital for this awesome experience!
But then I started to think about careers in medicine--not just preventive medicine (public health). What about becoming a nurse or a physician? I had never really considered the possibility before since I've always considered myself to be a social sciences/humanities kind of person. Perhaps I had overlooked a potentially very satisfying and flexible career, one that could provide me with the opportunity to do many of the things I want to do with my life. I love science and people, plus I strangely love to hang out in and around hospitals, since they're so interesting and fast-paced.
So, I decided to really look into what a career in medicine would be like. At the very least my research would give me a better view of the healthcare system, and that's a good thing since I'm going into public health! I wanted to get a better sense of this world, so I did what I do best and started obsessively researching. I started by downloading some books, reading lots of blogs and articles, and interviewing friends and family members.
Some of the things I read were encouraging and exciting, and others were kind of soul-crushing and depressing. While making a good salary is a perk of being a physician, it was not what originally drew me to the idea. But I kept reading about how difficult it is to pay off student loans and the exorbitant costs of malpractice insurance. There seem to be a lot of burnt-out physicians and nurses how seem really embittered. I was kind of disheartened to read article after article about how the "golden age" of physicians was over and how difficult it is to strike a good work-life balance.
But I wanted to think that this was simply the internet being its usual negative self. I knew lots of nurses and a few physicians who seemed really happy with their career choices, so surely it must not be that bad? And I was really interested in physicians working overseas, because that idea was what initially attracted me to the field. Everything is different as an expat, so I imagined that their experiences have to be quite unique.
I put an ad up on one of the online forums for expats living in Phnom Penh that I belong to. I was surprised to get quite a few responses from nurses and doctors working in the city. My first response was from a guy who was an ER nurse in America and was now working with another American to start a "boutique" clinic aimed at westerners living in PP. His wife works for the CDC (they moved here because of her job) and also could provide some insight into the world of public health. I met with them for coffee and they gave me a lot a wonderful advice and insight--they were such a nice couple and both enjoyed their jobs.
So far a lot more promising than the internet...
Then I got a response from a neurosurgeon working in Phnom Penh. He invited me to come shadow him at Preah Kossamak Hosptial where he was a volunteer consultant. I was really excited by this opportunity. He was a US physician who had retired at the age of 50 and decided to spend the rest of his life volunteering his skills to disadvantaged communities around the world. Now that sounded interesting!
 |
| I didn't take any photos in the hospital because I wasn't sure if that was ethical, but this is very similar to what the hospital looked like. This one looks a lot newer, though. |
I took the morning off from work and had my moto driver take me to the hospital. I was worried that I was going to be late, but managed to find the neurosurgery department quite painlessly. This was unlike any hospital I had ever been in. I walked up three flights of stairs to the neurosurgery department (I don't think there was an elevator in the building, much like the clinic I went to when I had food poisoning) and asked where I could find Dr. Park. I was told he would be there in about 10 minutes, so I waited on a bench in the hallway.
I could easily see into all the hospital rooms along the corridor which had large shuttered windows with no glass and let in a refreshing breeze. The building was old, pretty dingy, and had a very colonial feel to it. Most Americans would probably be a bit horrified to find themselves waiting for brain surgery on a rickety old cot in a room with several other patients and their families and no air conditioning. Its not that the place was really dirty, just very old and very crowded. Later Dr. Park told me that the neurosurgery patients were overflowing into the urology department next door. Most of the patients had been in a moto accident or had an on-the-job injury, and since lots of people don't wear helmets in Phnom Penh, there were a lot of brain/spinal injuries.
 |
| This looks almost identical to Preah Kossamak Hospital, sorry about having no pictures of the wards! |
After Dr. Park arrived and introduced my to some of his colleagues, we chatted for awhile then started on the morning rounds. I followed the physicians, residents, and medical students around as they assessed each patient and reviewed their charts. There were several people who had lost the use of their limbs, a boy in a coma, and a man with a large chunk of his skull removed. I felt glad that I'd taken human osteology a few quarters before I graduated and knew a bit about the structure of the human spine, but of course I wasn't sure what was going on most of the time. It was still really interesting.
Only one or two of the patients we rounded on had insurance (if you could even call it that). Its not surprising that doctors in Cambodia do not make a very high salary, I looked it up later and the average was about $5,000 a year. That may or may not be low, but its certainly under $10,000 a year. That really puts things into perspective, considering a neurosurgeon in America can make nearly half-a-million a year (before insurance, of course).
Despite this, all of the doctors I met there seemed to be quite knowledgeable and used what resources they had to provide the best care possible to their patients. For example, in the US a surgeon would usually use a drill to remove a portion of a person's skull, here they use a hand saw. Same procedure (for the most part), different tools.
 |
| In the operating room at Preah Kossamak Hospital! |
Dr. Park was a very cheerful and outgoing guy, someone who loved to share his knowledge, but was not pompous or aloof (which is something I'd heard was a problem when working with surgeons). He told me that he had originally gone into medicine because his dad was a doctor and he "wanted to make a lot of money." But during medical school he became a Christian and gradually became more humanitarian focused. He quit private practice after 17 years and took his family (wife and two daughters) on a trip around the world. The have three kids now (his wife found out she was expecting their 3rd child while they were in Nepal) and moved to Cambodia this August. He's helping to develop Preak Kossamak's curriculum for the medical students.
After we were finished with the rounds, Dr. Park asked me if I would like to join them in the operating room. HELL YEAH! Its not everyday that you get the opportunity to observe spinal surgery and talk to Cambodian medical students (who were all very nice, by the way). They found me some scrubs and I got to sit in the corner while they preformed the surgery. At the end I got to come up close and watch them close up the wound. I was proud of myself for not fainting or feeling queasy since I'd never done anything like this before. I actually thought it was pretty cool.
Who knows where I'll end up in life, but I am so glad to have had this experience. If anything, its solidified my interest in healthcare and gave me a chance to talk to someone who is following their dreams and helping others. I have to say that Phnom Penh is full of random, cool opportunities like this. It just goes to show that you never know what's possible till you ask; there are so many people who are excited to help you learn more about their careers and passions.
Thank you to Dr. Park and Preah Kossamak Hospital for this awesome experience!
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