First day on the job

Today was my first day at Natalspruit Hospital (NSH) as a community service medical officer. Wow! I don't have to work under supervision anymore...that is kind of a scary thought actually. It's kind of surreal to know those two years of hard work as an intern at Bara are over.

I'm working in the general surgery department at NSH, a district hospital in Kathlehong, just south of Alberton. I am so excited for this year and all the experiences and adventures it's going to bring. I've been really interested in surgery for a while and had to fight tooth and nail to be able to work in this dept since all the other CS' also wanted to do surgery. I hope it's worth it and it furthers my interest and passion for surgery. #happydance

The saddest thing I saw today was a 15 year old patient in ICU who has been intubated and ventilated for 14 days after sustaining a severe head injury when her perpetrator strangled her after raping her. I was shocked when my colleague and I were doing our ward round and he just casually mentioned it as if this is an everyday occurrence in Kathlehong. He then proceeded to tell me that most of what we see in the general surgical dept is in fact trauma because this area is incredibly violent. Wow! I think I'm in for an eye-opening experience this year. #stilltryingtopickmyjawup

The reason why I've decided to write a blog this year is that the only regret I have about internship is that I didn't keep a record about my experiences on the job, especially the horrifying jaw-dropping ones, but also the mundane everyday ones that made my life as an intern. Many people have asked me about my experience as a doctor in South Africa, and I generally don't know what to tell them. I see interesting and shocking things everyday but yet these things never spring to mind when confronted by that question. So here goes my attempt at keeping a record...