Friday, July 24, 2015

Continuing Promise 2015: This is a REALLY LONG TRANSIT

I know it has been a while since I posted...I was able to get on Facebook for a few minutes on the 21st to send my sister Katie a happy birthday message and post a picture of the Panama Canal...other than that I have had extremely poor luck connecting to the internet...Emily posted some pictures in her last blog post so I won't post ones that look exactly the same from the exact angle since we were standing right next to each other on the bridge...and with that #ThisTransitIsLong #ThisTransitIsLooooong #ShipLife #81StairsEverydayUpandDown 
JULY 18, 2015 SATURDAY
            Not much going on today besides Bingo on the mess decks…it was a huge crowd since there were cash prizes and a 3 night stay at the Hilton in Barbados for liberty. So much fun we played 4 games and there was so much competition and cheering it was really a great morale booster.
JULY 19, 2015 SUNDAY
            We spent most of the day in the pharmacy playing games…mainly werewolf…which I’m told is like mafia but I’d never heard of either…this group is so competitive and loud and hilarious...we've even started to recruit some UCSD dental students to play
JULY 20,2015 MONDAY
            Today was all about RISK...that is all that needs to be said...if you've ever played RISK you know friendships are gained and lost with nothing but world domination in mind...everyone is a salty sailor when it comes to RISK...we also had field day...which is really just commands way of giving us cleaning time from 0800-1100...they have a lot of different names that sound like it would be fun but its really just cleaning...Emily and I spent 3hrs cleaning scuff marks and tape residue off of cabinets...like scrub so hard with harsh chemicals we took the paint off in layers...
JULY 21, 2015 TUESDAY
            Today we went through the panama canal…the command actually cancelled some cleaning since it was field day yesterday and certain meetings so most people could spend time watching the ship go through the locks…we were actually able to go above the bridge and have a view of the front of the ship…they block the front off for crew members to handle the ropes and cables that come from the crew on shore at the canal…all of the enlisted pharmacy techs that were working today went to dinner with Emily, Ester, Jerline and I…usually we end up sitting at the NGO only tables (officers can sit there as well) but this time it wasn’t as crowded so we all got a table together which was nice…its really a family environment here everyone teases each other, has each others backs, and works hard together in the pharmacy and on site….we played RISK again...the LTs are in a very real power struggle and RISK has become life
JULY 22, 2015 WEDNESDAY
            Today Emily and I had our presentation on Dengue Fever and Chikungunya…Earl had set up time from 1900-2100 for our presentation as well as any other NGO groups that wanted to speak. All of the pharmacists and a few of the pharmacy techs attended which was very nice to have that support. The room we were in was neighboring the weight gym and had many pipes that made for a very noisy room…. definitely put us in a situation that required us to be loud enough and project our voice...I have very hit or miss presentation skills but this time even without really knowing the subject matter I felt confident...maybe its the sense of community with the pharmacy staff and NGOs here... The crowd was very supportive and had several questions….we even had one of the physicians with Latter Day Saints ask for a copy of the presentation because it was very professional and informative.
JULY 23, 2015 THURSDAY
            Today was the first day of our lecture series in the pharmacy. Each pharmacist picked a topic that we would discuss each day. LT Hand put it best in his opening statements to the discussion group: “Welcome to the first annual Comfort Discussion Series and what will most likely be the last Comfort Discussion Series”….So you know just another special treat for Emily and I.LT Hand’s topic was dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia…we spent about an hour and 20 minutes going over patient cases, guidelines, and how you would explain certain things to patients….did I mention the difficulty when you don’t have access to resources and the internet to look up material…
JULY 24, 2015 FRIDAY

            Today we attended the CO Call where Captain Sears talked about what the mission has already accomplished and what to expect in the next few countries. This morning I also attended a lecture by one of the navy pediatricians about efficient and effective teaching…it was nice to here comments and different adjustments to better help and understand medical students during their time as students and residents…we got our berthing inspected today...and when I say inspected I say inspected...we had to take the "inspector" through both our lockers and rack...everyone's experience was a little different...mine was that the inspector went through EVERYTHING...my dirty clothes bag, every pocket, every nook and cranny...yeah I said nook and cranny...Today was Dr. Hsin’s (Jerline’s) topic discussion on sepsis. Jerline has a different approach to teaching where we were quizzed entirely off of the guidelines, definitions, and drug mechanisms of action and side effects. Since I have not had inpatient experience yet I was taking as much information as I could from Jerline and Dr. Moon (Ester) since they both were in residency programs this past year….we pre-packed some medications for Haiti and finished off the night with a few games of werewolf

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