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Okay, this is totally pointless. If you have 30 seconds to kill, or if you like sheep, do watch it though. I just made it because I’m totally bored. Shouldn’t I be studying or something?
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Check out my post on Medscape about learning to live in an underdeveloped country.
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I spent the day at Princess Margaret Hospital taking a Basic Life Support (BLS) course for healthcare providers. I was certified in the past, but my certification had expired so I had to take the class today. Basically, I spent the day doing chest compressions, giving respirations, and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) on a variety of non-alive patients of various colors and sizes.
I’m kicking myself in the butt for not bringing my camera with me. Since I had no camera, I got creative and used my laptop to snap some pics and a short video, but they’re of low quality. Thursday and Friday I have my Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) class, and then I’m audi TT! Next time I will be bringing my real camera!
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Many people have written me asking about whether or not they should do their 5th semester here in Dominica at Princess Margaret Hospital. My personal opinion? YES! I thought it was an absolutely fabulous experience, and I think it’s better than going to Miami. I’m sure some people disagree, but this is my own opinion. Here are a list of positives and negatives with regard to staying:
Positives:
1) I think that the experience at PMH is much more hands on. I think a combination of the laws in Dominica and the doctors who teach at PMH makes the learning more interactive. I saw many patients. I was allowed to perform many procedures like starting lines, putting in catheters, doing digital rectal exams, and intubating. From what I’ve heard from students in Miami, you just don’t get that much hands on experience there.
2) You get to see more stuff. Again, from what I know from Miami students, here at PMH you see more stuff. I saw many operations, procedures, histories taken, etc. The exposure is awesome. Not only is there more exposure, but I think you see a broader range of pathologies. I saw someone with tertiary syphilis. You probably won’t get to see this in the States.
3) There are less students here. Less students seems to mean that the doctors have more time to teach. You’re not competing with hundreds of other students for the doctors’ time.
4) You have more time to study here. Again, this is compared to what I know from Miami students. They seem to have more required classroom time, which means less time to study. I can promise you that I had more than enough time to study for 5th semester classes AND plenty of time to study for the Step.
5) It’s cheaper here and there is less traveling involved. This is self explanatory. Not moving means less money spent. It’s cheaper to live here than in Miami. Moving sucks. Not going to Miami means one less move. (You still might move to Roseau, but this is a lot easier than moving to Miami.)
Negatives:
1) You’re in Dominica. Some people simply don’t like living here. If you can’t stand living here for 12 more weeks, I guess you should go to Miami.
2) They have official Step Review courses available in Miami. I’m not sure how they work, but I know they exist. They have review classes here given by Ross professors, but it’s not the same. If you think you absolutely need the courses, you might want to consider Miami. I personally prefer studying without the courses, but that’s just me.
3) PMH is less equipped than the hospital in Miami. There is no MRI at PMH and the CT scanner breaks sometimes. So, you won’t have as much exposure to some technologies. Some people think this is bad, I actually think it’s good. You have to rely more on your history and physical exam skills here. I think it’s a good opportunity to brush up on your important skills. You have the rest of your medical career to learn how to interpret MRIs.
That’s all I can think of for now. I’ll add more to the list later if anything comes up. Let me know if you have any questions!
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Check out my post on Medscape about the cultural differences in trusting physicians.
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It’s true. I’ve lived on this island for 589 days. Now, I only have 16 more to go before I return to the land of excess milk and honey, processed food, pollution, big cars, and bad health. I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. Anyway, today I have my very last practical exam ever!! It’s going to be the most difficult one to date, but by now, I kind of feel like a pro at them. Thursday is my last written exam of the semester. I can almost taste the sushi!
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Yesterday, my friend threw a baby shower for a wonderful baby who recently was adopted into a good home. I showed up in my sweaty gym clothes to blow up balloons. The baby smelled so good and I was so stinky! I think maybe I should refrain from holding babies. I just can’t take the temptation. It got me thinking about having my own kids someday. I really do want to. But when is the perfect time in the life of a med student? Never, of course. I guess when I’m around 60, I could probably finally afford one and have the time to take care of it. My friend told me, “you just have to do it.” That’s good advice, but hard to follow. Anyway, here’s to babies with good homes!
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Friday I did my psych rotation at PMH. The cool news? It was my very last day of rotations! All I have left is one practical exam on Monday, one written exam on Thursday, and 3 days of BCLS and ACLS training the next week. I can’t believe how quickly 5th semester has gone by! Today or tomorrow I’m going to post about my overall experience at PMH. Many people have asked me how I liked it and whether or not I’d recommend staying in Dominica for 5th semester. The short answer is yes, STAY!! But I’ll post an official post soon with details.
The psych rotation was awesome. Even though I didn’t get to see too many patients, it was still quite interesting. I think on some level I expected psych patients to be different here in Dominica. Well, for the most part, I was wrong. I met a few patients with schizophrenia and a few who had manic-depression. For the most part, they were strikingly similar to patients I’ve seen in the States. Listening to their stories and getting to know them really reminded me of how much I love psych. Mental health issues can affect peoples’ lives much differently than a physical health complaint. Living with schizophrenia, or having a friend or relative with schizophrenia is an incredibly challenging undertaking. It would be an understatement to say that it’s very difficult and frustrating at times.
After seeing the patients, we spoke with the psychiatrist for a while. He was absolutely amazing and very intelligent. He spoke to us about issues relevant to mental health in Dominica. I was shocked to hear him say that there are very, very few attacks on staff by psych patients in the hospital. I was used to being attacked verbally and physically almost every day at my old job in a psych hospital in the States. When I asked him what he thought the difference was due to, he said that it’s probably because of respect. The patients in Dominica tend to trust and respect medical professionals very much. In fact, I’m always surprised to hear the patients respond “yes, doctor” to me almost every day. They trust what you say to them and respect your knowledge. I guess it’s very different in the States. There is a general suspicion of doctors. And when it comes to mental health patients, there is a lot of mistrust and even downright hatred. Take, for example, a patient with paranoid schizophrenia. They are the epitome of distrustful. Yet here in Dominica, they still tend to trust the doctors and nurses (at least to some degree). This is absolutely amazing to me. I’d like to write a much longer article on this topic, but I don’t have the time right now.
So, more to come soon!
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Just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore Scope and Molly videos, you were proven wrong. Micah just made this quick video tonight. You gotta love these sexy beasts…. (Oh yes, and the video was all shot today outside of our house.)
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A curious fact about Dominica: it’s a rainbow factory. I don’t know if it’s the weather or location, or the leprechauns, or what, but Dominica sure does have a lot of rainbows. And by a lot, I mean like pretty much one every day. I’ve seen up to 10 in one day. I’ve seen single rainbows, double rainbows, triple rainbows, big rainbows, half rainbows, and everything in between. It’s an amazing fact that never stops making my spine tingle. It never grows old. They always make me stop and smile. They fill me with colorful pleasure. I really do love the rainbows.
The pic above was taken a few days ago out my back balcony. Actually, if you look really closely, you can tell that it’s a double rainbow. Though I’ve definitely seen some way better ones. Soon I will be back into the bustle and gloom of the States. I’m gonna try and hack off a piece of rainbow to take home with me. I hope the leprechaun doesn’t catch me.
My name is Kendra and I am a third-year medical student attending Ross University School of Medicine. I went through my basic science training on the Nature Island of Dominica, hence the name of this blog. However, I am currently living in Brooklyn, New York, where I'm doing my clinical rotations. I am a life enthusiast. I talk to strangers, cut the tags off of my pillows, and I don’t carry an umbrella with me because I prefer to get wet.
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