The day began at 7am with devotions for the hospital staff, delivered in both Mampruli and English. Afterwards, I got the tour of the medical center and then we started rounds. First, we examined the babies in the pediatrics ward who were hooked up to IV’s. Then, we sat in the middle of the room as the rest of the patients were brought by their mothers for us to examine. About 90%, probably more, of the pediatric patients have malaria. They are given IV medicine until they can tolerate taking oral medications and they are sent home once they have improved. One little girl was so lively and happy, it was obvious she would be discharged today. We then worked our way into the women’s, men’s, and isolation wards.
After rounding, we took a short break while the chaplains did a devotional speech for the patients in the waiting room. I walked back to the house, and met William, Trey and Baby as they were on their way to the market. The rest of the morning and afternoon, I saw patients in clinic with Dr. Hewitt. At first I just observed, but as it became obvious that there were many patients yet to be seen, I saw some of my own patients and double-checked my findings and treatment plans with Dr. Hewitt.
It was interesting and challenging as I was learning the treatment protocols, figuring out which drugs are on formulary and working through a translator for each patient. At least I have 3 months to perfect my BMC clinic skills. We took a break for lunch, and my day ended around 6:30pm, when Dr. Hewitt told me to go home so I could be with Trey.