Aji (Our first two days in the clinic)

This week has been a complete blur. In addition to acclimating to the high altitude, the group has also had to immerse ourselves into the Ecuadorian culture (and the language!). Some phrases and key words have come back, but it has been a real struggle. Luckily, there is a universal language in the clinic (I´m not talking about mathematics).

Justus and I, and our new friend Jason, have spent the past two afternoons at the IESS Urgent Care clinic. The IESS is the public hospital for the city, so the lines to be seen are long, the needs of the patients run the full spectrum of care, and there isn´t enough time in the day to see everyone.

The first day in the clinic, I was very hesitant to get my hands dirty. Even after 2 full days of clinical spanish instruction, I was still not confident in my abilities to procede with a physical examination in spanish. As the day went on, and I observed how Dr. Cadena interacted with his patients, I began to get a feel on how an examen proceeded in this Urgent Care clinic. A personal breakthrough occurred during the abdominal exam of a young man and the way he described his pain and I knew right away what the organ of interest was: the pancreas! Confirmation from Dr. Cadena that what we were observing was pancreatis went a long way. However, my personal satisfaction with a correct diagnosis was quickly turned to shreds as the patient turned to me and asked, in ENGLISH, if what he had was bad. A bit stunned and chagrined, I admitted that I didn´t know, and that he had to speak with someone else. That moment definitely humbled me for the rest of the afternoon. However, with increased confidence about the next day, I felt extremely motivated to review my command verbs.

The second day was a completely different story. More confident in giving directions in spanish and going through the motions of a targeted physical exam, both Justus and myself were able to participate more in each patient encounter. From the older woman with a ventral abdominal hernia to the young man with intense pain (dolor) from kidney stones, each person taught me something new.

If the past two days have been any indication about what the future may hold, I´m very excited to see how the next 3 weeks turns out.

Un abrazo,
Matteo