typical clinic day

my weekdays begin at 6:30 am to a chorus of every little birdie, every chickadee, every rooster in the mango tree. the mango tree frequently drops premature mangos like bricks on the roof, but i digress. to the réfectoire by 7 am for bread and choice of coffee, tea, hot cocoa. rounds start any time from 7:45 am to 8:30 am. usually, i’ll find at least one dehydrated kid with diarrhea receiving iv fluids in the salle de soins (er/procedure room) who came in overnight. sometimes an asthma kid is there getting a nebulized medication. we check out the premies, then the rest of the inpatients followed by newborns over in maternité. this is usually done by 10:30 or 11 am.
consultations go until noonish. we commonly see scabies, malaria, gastroenteritis, otitis media, bronchitis, buruli ulcer, anemia, and sickle cell with the rare varicella, hepatitis, and appendicitis. we triage quite a number of patients over to surgery who have hernias and abscesses and less common issues like vaginal atresia. sixth fingers get tied off in maternité and regress of their own accord. frenula (tongue anchor) that venture near the tip of the tongue get clipped by the head nurse. anybody who needs labs gets blood drawn and returns for the afternoon session of consultations.
we enjoy a rather generous lunch break usually 12:30 to 2:30 pm. i copy lab results into charts before we see the patients. i cringe every time i copy blood group results fearing i’ll write the wrong thing and some transfused baby will die. the potential for human error is immense. we see the patients from the morning first and then everyone else. the day finishes anywhere from 5 to 7 pm. dinner is at 7pm, another family style affair. initially it was awkward sharing meals and social life with the doctors and administrators of the hospital, but they have become a kind of family. the food at the réfectoire has been getting better and better as far as lunch and dinner are concerned. all i have to say is crêpe aux champignons (mushrooms) and île flottant...mmm mmm good. makes up for the eggplant two days in a row. if it’s a quiet night, i.e. there are no goodbye parties to attend, rachel and i will enjoy an episode of six feet under, our latest favorite entertainment featuring a dysfunctional family in the funeral business. lights go out around 10:30, 11pm. then it all starts again...