Our first week at the hospital is coming to an end. It has been an interesting week to say the least. Wednesday was our first day attending postings in OB/GYN. Postings are similar to clinical rotations and lasts from 10:00 AM -12:30 PM. Here in India 2nd year medical students receive and introduction to clinical rotations. The OB/GYN rotation is 9 days long, so Eva and I have joined a group of 5 other 2nd year students who study here at SDM for the time being. I'm not sure what we will be doing after they move onto their next posting as we are scheduled to be in OB/GYN till the 9th of June, I believe.



On our first day, Wednesday, we received an introduction of how to perform an obstetrics exam. A faculty member, with the assistance of a patient, demonstrated how to take a history and perform a physical/obstetrics exam. The teaching style/vocabulary used were very similar to medical school in the States (history of present illness, chief complaint, etc). The lesson was interesting and I felt like I learned a lot.



The second day, Thursday, was a little different. Upon arriving at 10 we were told it was OPD= out patient day. I figured that this meant going to the out patient clinic and shadowing a physician as he saw patients. However, I was mistaken. We proceeded downstairs to the out patient clinic to meet with Dr. Maht. He began by giving us a summary of the previous days lesson. Then he brought in a patient and basically said "go to it"... we were to take a history, do a physical exam, and give report when he returned. Seeing as Eva and I don't speak the language (all teaching is done in English but the majority of the patients only speak Kannada- the local dialect)... it seemed unlikely we could assist. The 5 medical students we are accompanying looked confused about how to begin. After much discussion amongst themselves, in front of the patient, they began. The history taking and exam were done in an unorganized incomplete fashion. All 5 of the students approached the patient at once, asking random questions, taking blood pressure, and palpating her abdomen. Eva and I observed both thinking how different things are in the States. Patients at home would definitely complain about this, however our patient seemed amused as the med students scrambled. Dr. Maht returned after about a half an hour and the students began to give report, which he quickly interrupted and corrected. He then proceeded to talk for about 45 minutes, instructing the proper way to perform a history and physical exam. Eva and I were both getting restless and were pleased when he dismissed us around 12:30. We then met up with the son of a family friend who attends medical school here for lunch. He is very nice and showed Eva and I where most of the students eat/socialize.



On the third day, Friday, we were to observe two vaginal hysterectomies in the operating room (OR). Eva and I came early so we could see the entire surgery. After a bit of confusion about where to be, we changed into scrubs, and walked into the OR. Shortly after arriving, while the anesthesiologist was giving a spinal, Eva began feeling faint and left the room. I was still doing alright and observed as Dr. Maht began the procedure. It wasn't a half hour when I also began to feel faint. Luckily some nice gentleman in the OR offered me his chair. I sat for a few minutes (cold sweats and shaky) and then felt sick... so proceeded to the bathroom. It appears that both Eva, her father - who got sick the night before, and I are adjusting the food/water here. After making 3 trips from the OR to the bathroom I decided to give up on seeing the rest of the surgery and just sat in the locker room feeling nauseous. So needless to say it wasn't the best day...

Today, Saturday, we came early for seminar. They have lecture every Saturday morning at 8:30 for staff and students. Today's lecture was on monoclonal antibodies... the majority of the information Eva and I had been exposed to in Imunology. After lecture we reported to posting which turned out to be another day in the OPD. This time was similar to last. We saw three women, all were over 7 months pregnant and three to four years younger than me. For two of the women it was their second child. Again, Eva and I didn't understand much of the interview/exam because of the language. All in all it was still an interesting day.

After returning home, the power went out three times.... really not a huge deal except no power = no fans = sitting and sweating :) We also had our first monsoon rain which really cooled things down and made sleeping wonderful. Monday we are supposed to report to the OR at 8:30 again... hopefully this time around will be a better experience.