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!
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