Cannula Master

Had a somewhat frustrating day at work today: much of the day was spent attempting to obtain iv access in our patients! In the U.S., we're used to the nurses putting in iv's into patients. However, here at PMH that duty falls squarely on the shoulders of the physicians.

We have two patients with cryptococcal meningitis and as a result they are gorked out for much of the day. Both of them managed to tear out their iv's overnight as a result of the nurses unadvisedly taking them off their restraints. It took about 45 minutes, but I just barely got a 22-gauge iv into this dude's foot this afternoon...let's hope it lasts until the morning! In general, I'm getting a little tired of performing these menial tasks--like putting in iv's, serving as the transport for bringing patients to X-Ray, doing all the EKG's myself, etc. Initially the novelty was kind of neat, but at this point I'd much rather learn new skills or learn more about the fascinating disease states that are surrounding me at all times.

This weekend: another safari trip, this time to Tuli, which is in the far east part of the country. We're going to stay in some high-end tents (not quite camping but not quite a hotel room either, it sounds like), take a bunch of game drives, and (once again) try not to get eaten by lions.