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The doctors here know things I don’t know, and vice versa. When was the last time I saw a case of rheumatic fever, or sickle cell, or congenital syphilis? (it’s the joke at Annotto Bay that Dr Ravi is the congenital syphilis expert because he’s had 4 cases this year to date). When did I last do the initial management of a kid with congenital heart disease ? (rural Tennessee, small hospital with level 1 nursery, 1980s). There are lots of things I know, up to date and evidence based. I hope I can offer some of them politely, with appropriate modifications for the local setting. And there are a lot of things they know, practical and hands-on and real-world, that I’m soaking up like a sponge! Dr. Ramos reminded me that just because mom nods her head and says yes when I give her a list of symptoms she should bring the baby back in for doesn’t mean she gets it. “This is a third world country!” he tells me. That doesn’t mean that medical literacy is widely distributed in other parts of the world, though — it behooves us all to make ourselves clear in language our patients understand. For another day, I have a lot to say, not about what’s lacking in low-resource countries, but about American medical bloat. Fortunately I’m between jobs and on sabbatical till September, so I don’t have to experience the reverse medical culture shock of jumping right back in to a US hospital setting. For the moment, I’ll just listen to the tree frogs before falling asleep.
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… in Port Maria, and the radiology tech stuck her head in my door — “no x ray, we’re on generator.” Power and X ray came back up in time to determine that a happy toddler did not swallow a coin (his grandmother thought she saw one in his mouth). Hard to convince the mom of a vigorous premie that “no dudu for 3 days” is not a dangerous symptom– breastfed newborns can go 7 times a day or every 7 days or anything in between. At dinner the resort guests swarmed the buffet while Bob Marley sang “dem belly full but we hungry” in the background. I’ve always had a little trouble defining irony, but will look no further.
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….it’s hand foot and mouth disease, atopic dermatits, or my favorite generic diagnosis, viral exanthem. Can’t blame parents, who already have enough worries about their children, for being worried about one more threat. Got to love a dad who says, “her immune system has to take care of this, right?” about a viral illness. Right. At Port Antonio the district psychologist came by and borrowed the office I was using for about half an hour. Her task was to give the A&E (ER) nurses a course in mindfulness to help them de-stress about the difficult situations they see at work. She taught them some relaxation and breathing techniques and how to do a quick mini-meditation. Great idea — every workplace could use this! Love the drive to Port Antonio– nonstop ocean and mountain scenery. Thanks to Mr Campbell for going out of his way to drop me off in the evening. It’s Saturday morning — just took a kayak out for a paddle, now waiting on the morning snorkel boat. Hope to get a sailing lesson this afternoon, if the onshore breeze doesn’t pick up too much. Working in the clinics here is its own reward, but the accommodations are the icing on the cake!  
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