Universal healthcare

Today was day 2 of clinics in the village, but this time I went to Kojawara. The hospital there was very nice, and so was the other doc that was working there. I learned quite a bit about malaria and dysentery as well as some odd practices of treating cystoceles (apparently gaining weight prevents your bladder from prolapsing).... and even more about the ailments of constipation. I love the fact that this doc keeps saying "you won't find this in the books, but this is my treatment".

Yesterday there was a strike across India by what appears to be the equivalent of union workers. Since the busses weren't running, we had a very slow day at the clinic yesterday because no one could get there. I was hoping for a little more action today, but alas, we had 1 patient... And it was a hypertension follow-up.... Something as routine in the states as mcdonalds. Hopefully I'll get to see some interesting stuff while I'm here.

I did get into a lengthy conversation about health care with the other doc at the village hospital. He was telling me about how the government runs their healthcare system, as they view healthcare just as necessary as the police force. He asked about our system, "so the very poor have coverage, and the very old have coverage, and the rich can afford coverage, but what happens if a person has little money and no insurance and he gets cancer? Who takes care of him?" He was shocked and disappointed with my answer. I began explaining to him the new healthcare bill that was passed in the US, and he seemed amazed that it was just now a policy.

Tomorrow I work in the health clinic at seva mandir for patients in udaipur and surrounding areas with HIV/AIDS. I'm excited to see this clinic in action. As for now, I think I'm going to clean up to take a trip down to the old city for a nice dinner with my roommates!

Val, meet India.... India, meet Val

The gentle sound of a mosque call for prayer and the distant scent of campfire woke me from my sleep this morning before the sun rose. ah, I'm in India! It was my first day to go out into the villages to take a look at the healthcare system since I arrived (the past 2 days have been more or less getting accustom to going the the bathroom in a hole and having all dairy products at room temperature). After an hour long jeep ride into the country side (stopping every mile or so for wandering cows, goats, and a few monkeys), we made it to the remote village of kochla (which I tried to google last night unsuccessfully).

It was interesting to read Jessica Sheng's blog about her experience with the villages and the local doctor I was shadowing, because or experiences (and thoughts) were very similar. Like Jessica, I was amazed by the ability of this woman to diagnose only on physical exam. She could look at a patient and tell me that she had riboflavin deficiency or anemia and felt confident enough to give supplementation without any additional tests. Apparently B2 deficiency is quite common out here. She also explained to me how she performs many antenatal check ups without any if the fancy equipment that we use in the states. We're all just spoiled.

While I was impressed with many of her physical exam abilities, I also was a little apprehensive about some of her claims. Apparently she believes that constipation is the root of all ailments (including miscarriages and diabetes) and she doesn't seem to have any respect for the fact that although OB/Gyns are specialized, they still understand that systemic diseases exist and know to look out for them.

I didn't realize that I was supposed to bring my own lunch (which I'm not sure where I'm supposed to get said lunch), so thankfully the doc was ok with sharing hers. I'm beginning to realize that maybe I'm not a HUGE fan of REAL Indian food.... well, at least not anything with dairy.