I had mixed reviews on my Feifel Goes West joke on the last blog post (mainly from uncultured heathens... who doesn't know Feifel Goes West?!?!), so I'll be more circumspect today.
Nice to have an extra day to extend what has been a beautiful weekend in Kigali. In addition to soaking up some nice sun and warm weather, it is almost a blessing to have the extra time to prepare for the final academic teaching day on Tuesday. We have a full day lined up, complete with new sim scenarios, as well as written and oral exams to give the residents some practice thinking through anesthetic cases.
I have the feeling that they'll do pretty well actually, considering the complexity of the cases that are the norm here. (eg. for the OB anesthetists reading this: we helped with a G4P3 IUFD at 38wks, prior C/S, pre-eclamptic, morbidly obese, poor mouth opening, malaria, plts 23, BP 210/110 on my first day in the ORs). Their knowledge base seems quite good. Where we come in is helping to provide a framework on which to hang that knowledge in an organized and consistent manner. We've seen great strides to that end, and the seniors seem quite able to deftly discuss anesthetic considerations and plans. I think we're doing important work here, and making some good progress. We just need more of our graduates to stick around to build the capacity...
Last week was spent in Butare, a smaller town, but large enough to have a teaching hospital (the national university of Rwanda is also there). Only 4 ORs, not all of which are running continuously, so the pace is a little more reasonable and the flow of patients seems quite good. We had a few great days of OR teaching, followed by ice cream rounds, where we taught all sorts of topics in a relaxed atmosphere with delicious coffee ice cream. I think the 10 new residents have re-vitalized the department here and everyone seems engaged and hungry to learn. The challenge now is that there are so many learners that its hard to get enough time with each of them!
On a less academic note, I'll maybe briefly mention my trip to the Genocide Memorial yesterday, although it is impossible to do it justice... Suffice it to say that the experience is powerful, and the memorial is professional, respectful and honest. It seems to be free of political influence, but I am cognizant that history is often written by the side left standing, when all the dust settles. Regardless, the mass graves, interring an unthinkable 250 000 Rwandans, are an important reminder that humans can do unconscionable things for ludicrous reasons. I fear for the people of Burundi, who may be facing a similar ethnic struggle, with recent worry of new mass graves by satellite imaging and apparently little heed of the tragic lessons of its neighbor, Rwanda.
Okay. Slightly more positive now, stay with me: Today I swam longer than I have ever swam before... we calculated it out to be 1.25km or thereabouts... 60 lengths of a 22.5m pool. non-stop. I'm not sure I can explain how... the most I'd done previously was 20 lengths, with lots of breaks, but I figured out the breathing and it just felt good to keep going. I never swim. It's just not something I've done, but the pool is inviting, I'm up for learning new things, and Patty has been coaching my technique to help with endurance. I think I might have to take it up at home...
Okay, this has been another marathon blog post... still not my longest. I clearly need to keep working on my endurance...
Feifel was also a good swimmer - Only swam to the west though
ReplyDeleteThat's more than 4 times the height of the Feifel Tower, Tristan. Impressive. My Fitbit tells me that is 380 calories, about 1/2 of a coffee ice cream. Keep working on the laps.
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