Blog Update!

July 15^th

            Yesterday was my first day on MEDCAP.  I was able to go out with my preceptor and one of the Navy pharmacy personnel.  I was so excited to finally see how the clinics were run here and what site we would be at.  We mustered at 0530 and took a boat and a bus ride to our site.  This was the 4^th day of MEDCAP 1 so the other pharmacy personnel had already unpacked the medications the pharmacy and we just needed to become acquainted with where all the drugs were and set ourselves up for the day. I was really hot outside but our room was not too bad because we had several fans and windows allowing for airflow. We began seeing patients come in about 45 minutes after we arrived.  We had 3 or 4 translators at all times and we arranged it so that some of the Vietnamese volunteers gave each patient a number when they came so that we could more easily determine which patient belonged to each prescription.  In Vietnam, many of the people have the same or very similar names, so the numbers helped us reduce the chance of giving the prescription to the wrong patient.  The only down side to having so many volunteers help us is that I didn’t get to have a lot of patient interaction.  Some people would shake our hands, smile, and say thank you after being counseled which was actually my favorite part of the day.  Some people actually went out for lunch but I decided to stay in and try my MRE (meal ready to eat) for the first time.  It actually wasn’t that bad.  It’s kind of like a goody bag.  You know what the main course is, but all the sides and desserts are a surprise so it’s kind of fun! 

We went out again today but it was the last day of MEDCAP 1 so they cut us off around 1300 with only a few patients trickling through until about 1500.  We then had to pack up and clean our area out.  There were so many people coming in to see if we needed help, it made it go by much quicker.  We only saw around 200 patients on the first day and about 170 on the second, which is apparently much fewer than in other countries.  I’ve heard they saw about 800 patients per day in Indonesia and the Philippines.  Even though we didn’t see as many patients, we still seemed to keep busy the entire day.

Overall, it was a great experience.  We were told that the people were very thankful to have us there and you could tell that they really appreciated all of the services that were provided.

MEDCAP 1 Site - Elementary School

MEDCAP 1 Pharmacy Team

July 16^th

Today I was able to go out and volunteer to help out with ENGCAP, which stands for Engineering Civil Assistance Program. I thought that we were going to be painting a school or something along those lines, but they split the volunteers up into two groups and my group went to a clinic that was being renovated.  Instead of painting, they handed us a hard hat, gloves, and a bunch of rakes, shovels, and other tools… I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  The back of the clinic was full of dirt, bricks, and waste products.  The clinic had actually been throwing needles out the windows into the back yard along with other biohazardous waste.  There was a big pile in the corner where they had burned the waste, however a lot of the needles didn’t burn so we had to be really careful where we stepped.  We proceeded to rake out the area and break down the brick so that they could pour concrete over the entire area and make it all level.  Basically, I pushed dirt around all day in the blazing sun.  Well, not all day, it was more like I worked for five minutes and then rested for 20! Haha!  It was quite the experience spending the day with a bunch of construction workers.  I have so much more respect for all of them.  They have a really tough job and somehow they still managed to laugh and joke around in all that heat.  I could barely speak, I was so tired!  There were three kids, that lived next to the clinic, that came out and were trying to talk to us.  They knew very basic English like “hello”, “what’s your name”, etc.  They were really cute and friendly.  One of the volunteers did some “magic tricks” for them.  The older ones figured it out but the little one was fascinated by him and was giggling the entire time!  It was priceless. Across the street, there was a small stand selling drinks and snacks.  It was attached to a house where a bunch of people were playing games and hanging out.  They had a chicken and duck pen, which would eventually result in food on the table.  The pen was really large and it occurred to me that they probably were more humane to their food animals than in the US because it is not all so mass-produced.  The family didn’t mind us looking around and one man even came out with a smile on his face and tried to communicate with us.  I couldn’t believe how nice and welcoming they were, I half expected them to tell us to get off their property. 

When we got back to the pier, one of the guys on the ENGCAP and some other people from radiology wanted to go eat dinner on the beach so I decided to go with them.  It has been great to be able to get off the ship and eat the local food.  I feel really lucky because a lot of people have not been out in Vietnam yet and I have already been out on six days.  Being in the pharmacy really gives you so much opportunity.  I feel like I am having too much fun!  The next two days, I am scheduled for the PM shift in the pharmacy, which is from 1500 to 2330.  Tomorrow will be my first real day in the pharmacy so I am really excited.  It feels like I am going in for my first day of work!

 Breaking bricks!

Hanging out with the neighbors!

July 17^th & 18^th

            My first two shifts in the pharmacy were great.  I was lucky to be scheduled with military technicians that really knew what they were doing and were proactive in teaching me the system and letting me try it for myself.  I was able to enter orders, fill prescriptions, and even get a little extra experience in the sterile compounding hood.  I did a few add-a-vials and got to do an antibiotic reconstitution with sterile transfer.  It was exciting because it was my first time doing that since our lab class and it was actually going to a patient!  I even got to attend a couple of lectures during the daytime so I felt like I was learning a lot.  I have been really impressed with the “technicians” who work in the pharmacy.  I put technicians in quotations because these guys joined the Navy and then actually went to school to become Corpmen.  A Corpman is actually a combat medic who is trained in all aspects of healthcare.  These guys are really smart and have a lot more education than I would expect from a “pharmacy technician”.  They can put IVs in patients and they know a lot about the medications they work with.  They actually do most of the counseling to the patients.   They even do presentations for us that are at the level of a graduate student.  It has been really impressive, I have a lot of respect for them.