God Bless America...

...is what one of the surgery attendings told Scott and I. He was asking us about the USMLE and that he eventually wants to move to the states (even though he has it pretty good here). He spoke of his brother and sister who are living in Idaho and L.A., respectively. He stated his gratefulness for the opportunities America has given them. Scott mentioned the First Aid series and those books are apparently a hot item. In fact, Scott brought it in yesterday to show Dr. M and another physician bee-lined it from the O.R. and asked if he could have it. The neurosurgeon Scott was working with told him to not leave that book unattended or someone would steal it. I guess we don't realize how good we have it.

But, it can go either way. The doctors here get to truly practice medicine. I need an X-ray. It is done. I need bloodwork. You got it. You need to take these antibiotics. Patients listen. The doctors are not taught, in medical school, to "view each patient as a potential lawsuit" and to make sure every minute detail is documented in a chart and in the dictation. They are not constantly on the phone fighting with insurance companies to reason why the CT needs approval or why this patient needs to take this medication. And the paperwork. The endless paperwork. I'm not looking forward to that aspect. I have nightmares of charts stacked up to the heavens.

However, after working for a week in Santa Ana, I wouldn't trade my spot for the world... for now at least. Talk to me June 2011. Haha!

Well, I know one thing for sure- GOD BLESS AMERICA for BASEBALL! And God Bless Joe for spoiling an American brat that is yours truly. The gift of mlb.tv will get me through the nights (since it is not advisable I be out after 6pm). Te amo mi prometido. Te extrano.

El Lago de Coatepeque

Thank you Jackie's cousins, Nancy and Pedro, who took us to El Lago today. An old volcano turned lake, this beautiful place is both a home to many (Jackie's dad grew up here) and a popular tourist spot. Pictures can be found on facebook. Me and the blogger uploader are not friends. Could be the Central American internet.

We met some Americans at the restaurant we were at, Rancho Alegre, who were very friendly and were wondering why Scott and I didn't go to Rutgers as we are native New Jerseyans.

If Jackie and I were to pro-create...

... we would have a son thriving as an Infectious Disease Specialist, nicknamed Eddie.

I'm pretty sure one of the surgeons sighed, "Oh females," as I got super excited about seeing my last name and Jackie's last name next to each other. And I'm pretty sure it was her uncle.

No lap choles in sight!

No offense to my gen surg friends of course ;)

Ohhh it’s NaLa not NaNa…

I should've known right then and there that me hearing "Nah-nah" as the name of the house dog was reaffirmation in choosing Ob/Gyn. I guess it can also mean I'm twisted and sick. Nonetheless, today I fell in love all over again.

Unbeknownst to Scott and I, we were not participating in the gastrectomy (praise Jesus!) today. Instead, Dr. Cabrera handed us over to our areas of interest. Scott to Neurology/Neurosurgeon and I in Labor & Delivery! As soon as I entered the ward, my eyes lit up and I was ready to rock-n-roll. Within 20 minutes we were rolling a mama at 30 wga (weeks gestational age) into Cuarto del expulsión No. 3. Here the women in labor are placed in this elongated hallway titled Trabajo de Parte (fancy for “Labor”). It resembles the hallways found in emergency rooms where patients are placed when all the rooms are taken. Once they are ready to empuje, they are rolled into a cuarto del expulsion. These are located in a huge room on the other side of the ward which are divided into 4 sections. So, multiple vaginal deliveries can be going on at once. Then there was a tube tying called an esterilización, then a cone biopsy of the cervix, and then I got to first assist a c-section! Love it.

One of the attending asked if I was gonna do turnos aka night-shift. I’m gonna opt for no gracias. I will definitely bring that term to the states come June and dub “night-shift” or being on call – TORturnos.

Today, the country has one of the world's highest homicide rates...

Archbishop Romero

This was the first picture I took in El Salvador - it's a banner that is seen as soon as you exit the airport. I didn't know what compelled me to take the picture. I hadn't had the chance to look at it let alone try to translate the words. But, each day I like to google "El Salvador news" and someone else's blog came up posting an article in the Washington Post about a former military captain, Alvara Saravia who has decided to provide details after all these years.

I didn't realize that Scott and I arrived her just a week after the anniversary of Archbishop Romero's assassination which was the beginning of El Salvador's 15 year civil war. Jackie gave us a briefing on the history before we left about the conservative party and the leftist guerillas...

...but gotta go to the hospital. Click on the link to read the very interesting article!

Gimps y Yo on a mission...

Scott and I got back from the hospital today with enough time to take a stroll through the main street in El Congo. We were on a mission to get beer and wine. Surprisingly, we were not hassled to buy anything from any of the vendors. Just some looks wondering what this gringo in a cast was doing hobbling along in their town.

To our dismay, a 6-pack of Pilsener was out of budget and there was no boxed wine (Scott was really disappointed about that). We picked up a bag of chips and were appalled at the calories per serving. A bag, roughly the size of those $0.99 dorito bags at wawa, held about SIX servings at almost 300 calories per serving. Put that bag down! Scott is convinced that there will be a huge need for Statins in this area very soon. Everyone here is well-fed!

On the walk back, I realized what the street reminded me of – Market Street! Random stores playing loud hip hop music, selling DVDs, TVs, and hubcaps. I debated on buying a set and shoving it in my suitcase. Maybe if I have extra bisto. In addition to the small shops, and even medical clinics, there was a store that was selling tile for the kitchen or bathroom, one selling toilets, and even a cell phone store. I had to pull Scott along as he stopped in front of the fried chicken place (equivalent to Crown Fried Chicken for those of you familiar with that establishment) mesmerized by the intoxicating aroma of fried chicken. We had to get back to put the two botellas of vodka in the freezer.