July 13th

I knew I wouldn’t be able to blog for a few days due to my schedule being so busy for the past 6 days. On Tuesday, the 10th, we mustered at 0700 to go to the pier to sort the medications from the Vietnamese government. We took a 45minute boat ride from the ship to the pier and when we got there it was hot! When we got off the boat, someone said “Pharmacy! That’s your box.” I laughed a little because it was a tiny, closed up trailer and we had about 22 people with us! I couldn’t believe they were serious. It was a long, hot day but we made a lot of progress. The medications were all in boxes and we had to count them out and divide them up into six different MEDCAPS. It took a long time for some of the drugs, like acetaminophen, because there was so much of it. We also sorted the medications into bags and labeled them so that they were ready for dispensing. We were told the MEDCAPS in Indonesia saw about 800 people per day so we were expecting a lot of patients. It was frustrating though because a lot of the drugs ordered by the pharmacy either didn’t come or were replaced by something not relevant for use. For example, they ordered erythromycin eye ointment and received erythromycin topical ointment. We worked all day on Tuesday and took the boat back around 1830 (6:30pm), which was perfect because we were able to sit and watch the sun set over the mountains. It was gorgeous. I was exhausted from the heat and fell asleep really easily right after my shower. We repeated this on Wednesday except we had a few less people so it wasn’t as hot and we got to go out for lunch! We took a bus to the beach and ate at a Vietnamese restaurant along the water. It was quite different than eating in the states. We had crab, shrimp, fish, squid, and some of us had a coconut to drink! It was all fresh food and quite the experience. We went back to the pier after that to continue with our packing and sorting. We then returned to the ship around 1900 (7:00pm), which was awesome because it was the end of the sunset and then the darkness fell. I have never rode on a boat in the middle of the ocean at night and it was an experience I’ll never forget. I sat outside, on the upper deck and watched the stars. It was really surreal.

I was scheduled to be at the pier yesterday, the 12th and today to finish packing but luckily we finished all of the pre-packing for all 6 MEDCAPS by about 11am yesterday. We decided to go out for lunch to treat ourselves. We hopped on a liberty bus and went to a large shopping center. It was basically a big mall but it had a grocery store in it. When we walked in we wanted to get a group picture and one of the Vietnamese clerks from one of the stands came running into our picture in the front. Then she grabbed my arm and asked her friend to take a picture with me. She was so happy. It was really nice to see that the people were so friendly to us. I noticed as I was walking around that the people looked very serious and just kind of stared at us, but as soon as I smiled at them, their faces would light up and they would smile right back at me. I just kept thinking “everyone smiles in the same language”… kind of cheesy, I know, but it is really true, especially on this mission. It was really cool to be able to see the villages and the homes people live in.

You can tell that this country is more controlled by the government than others. The buildings constantly alternate from rich to poor. Apparently, we are actually in a touristy area so there are a lot of hotels and beach restaurants, so it is difficult to really determine how the people live in the more rural areas. Today, the department head of the pharmacy decided we didn’t need to go out to the pier, so we mustered at the pharmacy at 7am. I really wanted to learn how the pharmacy worked and learn the system so I was sticking around in the pharmacy with my preceptor in hopes that I would be able to become acquainted. Suddenly, the department head came in and told me that I had been signed up to watch a surgery that day! I quickly went downstairs to the OR and signed in. They gave me the option of seeing a cataract surgery, an undecended testicle, or a hysterectomy. I chose the hysterectomy. The surgery had already begun when I came in so it took me a little bit to understand what was going on. They had just opened the women up and were working on getting the uterus out. I watched the entire surgery and after they removed the organs, I was able to look at them and see the ovaries and the uterus and the fallopian tubes. The uterus was apparently much larger than normal because it had fibroids in it which was causing the women a lot of pain and a lot of bleeding. It was kind of gross but I couldn’t stop staring at it. The thing I found the most interesting about the surgery was the way the doctors interacted. There were two main surgeons, an American and a Vietnamese doctor. They also had a Japanese doctor and another Vietnamese doctor assisting. They had a translator there but for the majority of the surgery, they were able to communicate without using the translator. The only time they used her was when they were discussing differences in their techniques or how they usually perform the surgery. They were asking why the other one typically did it one way versus another and then they would compromise and choose a way they both agreed on. They really seemed to respect each other. It also seemed as if the American doctor was teaching the Vietnamese doctors, which was really cool. I was able to watch a second surgery directly after the first one, which was a cervical polyp removal. This patient was much younger and I was able to see her before the surgery. She seemed so frightened to come into the operating room. I could only imagine what it must be like going on to a foreign ship and then come into an operating room full of foreign doctors who are speaking a language that you don’t understand and then having to undergo such an invasive procedure. (if you’re a women, then you understand) She was awake the entire time with only an anti-anxiolytic to help calm her. The surgery only lasted about 20 minutes and then she was able to go back to the holding room to be with her escort. Later that day, I went to a lecture on neuro rehabilitation which was really interesting. On most days, twice per day, the department of medical services offers lectures on different topics. I wasn’t aware of this previously but I am going to try to go from now on.