Following the Interns

I went to work yesterday to talk to Dr. Revollo, the head of the Unidad de Infectologia, to receive an official introduction to the new interns in the unit. To my surprise, he suggested that I go find the two Claudias in their new section - a combination of Cardiology, Nephrology, and Gastroenterology - because it would interesting to see different types of patients. I tracked the building down all the way on the other side of the Hospital campus, only to find that in contrast to the complete lack of privacy and security in Infectologia, this area had a locked front gate controlling access to the wards. After waiting at the gate for a few minutes I flagged down one of the Claudias, who then introduced me to one of the Jefe's, a very cold and intimidating man compared to the jolly and "chistoso" (funny) Dr. Revollo. After a bit of explaining, and more due to the fact that I have white skin and blond hair, he told me that I was allowed to follow them around, but that I had absolutely "no responsibilities".

This area of the Hospital is completely different from the Unidad de Infectologia. The building gets a lot more light, which not only makes the wards warmer, but also gives them the allusion of being cleaner. Instead of dormitory-style beds, there are partitions separating every two patients, and the blankets on the beds are actually embroidered with the hospital logo. There is a reception desk with a centralized location (at least nominally) for the patient charts and paperwork. In general, there is much more of a flurry of activity - more nurses, more doctors, and much fewer visitors. It's kind of ironic that access to the patients with heart and kidney problems is strictly controlled, while access to tuberculosis and AIDS patients is not.

My day itself was kind of boring, because I ended up following Claudia #1 around while she filled out paperwork and accompanied the Jefe's on rotations. This is especially hard because the doctors rattle off a string of clinical indications that I have never heard of...but at least I was inspired to go home and look up things like renal tuberculosis, uremia, and congestive heart failure.

On a completely unrelated note, I have a few yummy recipes to share...of course with slight modifications. Saturday night I made tortilla soup (with corn added in), and also zesty quinoa (with apples and zuchinni because I couldn't find sundried tomatoes.) Also, last night we had avocado enchiladas with a mexican chili sauce and sprinkled with cheese. The tortillas were a bit mushy because we didn't fry them before baking them, so if you don't mind extra oil I would recommend that. Serve them with black beans, rice, salad, and a nice glass of red wine.