October 4, 2007

This morning we had our Mental Health clinical orientation. All of us piled into the Kombi and started the drive to the five different sights. The first that we went to was a private institution, which had beautiful gardens surrounding the big white house which was the hospital. We were given a tour and it was very nice and organized. There weren’t lines of people and crowds waiting to be seen. Unfortunately I wasn’t placed at this site and I was a little bummed, but no matter where I am placed it will be a great opportunity! We visited four more sites, all of which are public clinics and I was given my two placements. We will be working two days a week for two weeks at one site and then for another two weeks to the same thing but at a new site, in order to experience different venues of mental health. After our morning of hopping around PE, we came home for lunch, and a 45 minute nap before heading to St. George’s private hospital. At the hospital we were given a tour of the different units to compare it to back home as well as the public sector. We went to a medical/surgical floor, the ICU, maternal health ward, and the trauma center. It was very interesting to talk to the nurses on the floors andhear their insight about the healthcare system in South Africa as well as how the hospital operates. From the sounds of it, doctors and nurses do not have the best working relationship, especially in comparison to home. I think that it would be very frustrating to work as a nurse in South Africa, not only because of the patients you are seeing, but how doctors and nurses interact. After the hospital tour we had a post conference session and the rest of the day was ours. I made apples and bread for dinner and it was a huge hit and everyone had to sample it, which didn’t leave much for me, but it was still yummy! We got ready to go out for the night. We started at Captains for trivia, but it was empty! Then we decided to go to another bar to listen to their live music, but there was a R30 cover charge, and I was feeling particularly cheap tonight and didn’t want to spend $4.50 to get in and not like the music. So we went back to Captains for a bit, then Laura and I decided that we were in grumpy moods so we walked back home to just have some quiet and alone time. So I have been sitting here trying to just relax and enjoy some time to myself, which is generally a difficult thing to do when sharing a two bedroom apartment with three other people!