Last Thoughts from Pondi

We are all nearing our last day in Pondi and I think that there were some overriding feelings that I wanted to share with you all… I apologize if my posts came out as negative, that was not what I was meaning… indeed I am amazed at a few things that are going on here:

– I think that the physicians here are clinically gifted. Their ability to ferret out a diagnosis with just the history and physical is amazing and something that I wish to have one day. I think that I am very technology dependent and tend to use lab values and radiological evidence as my main force with the history and physical to follow. Often times, I look at the labs and radiology before I even see my patient. This is quite the opposite here as the patients can’t afford the necessary technology.

– I am very impressed that some of the patients that are brought for the “CPC” like lecture are some of the poorer patients who can’t afford the necessary diagnostic procedures to help with therapeutic options. Since they were there as “educational subjects”, they can get these procedures for reduced rates or even for free. I wish that happened more in the hospital, but at the very least it is still happening.

– I also liked the community medicine and they way they taught there medical students. More about this can be seen in Tim’s previous post. What I wanted to add about this was that the Community medicine department opened up 2 clinics (one in the city and one rural) to help with preventative medicine. There, they tried their best to teach about diet and exercise and about the dangers of diabetes and hypertension. As Tim said before, it is better to stop the problem before it is started.

-I am also surprised with the amount of OP poisoning that is prevalent here. Some of the studies that I had seen in the past mentioned that approx 45% of MICU admissions were secondary to OP poisoning but I suspect that number must be conservative as it seemed that there were multiple admissions daily.

Tomorrow, we embark on the journey from Pondicherry to Hyderabad by way of Chennai. Lets hope we make it to everything on time….

Countdown begins…

So I never imagined myself to be writing a blog – just as I never imagined to be traveling from Brooklyn to Hyderabad unaccompanied to live, work and experience the ultimate ID world. I arrive there in 3 weeks from today and what were just an idea, a thought, and a wish will very much become a reality. I don’t know what’s ahead but I am ready to discover and experience ‘it.’ My instincts tell me that the trip will be incredible and eventually will lead to countless such trips in future.

To all of you leaving next week – Bon voyage. Enjoy Pondy and see you in Hyderabad.

Not Just Pondy?

I am now thinking that we may split time between Pondicherry and Hyderabad. The experience at Pondy will be direct patient experience with medicine, surgery, and OB/GYN. There will be interaction with med school faculty, residents (Postgraduates) and students. The major success of CIT1, in my mind, anyway, is the opportunity we had to see other aspects and venues of healthcare. I think that visiting the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home is a fantastic experience for anyone. The Fever Hospital is also an excellent education in the clinical manifestations of tropical diseases as well as a display of healthcare inequalities. Most of the patients there (without diarrhea) have vaccine- preventable illnesses. I am also thinking about other things available in Hyderabad that may not be as easy to come by in Pondy. Not to mention that as beautiful as Pondicherry sounds, Hyderabad is a more typical Indian city.