DAY ONE

Well the first day wasn't as encouraging as the first night. The disorganization is unbelievable. I'm not sure I've even known the meaning of the word until now. I have been working in the ER as the MD's right hand and doing at much as I possibly can. The chaos is overwhelming. There are no medical administration records, so even if you give a medicine there is no way of knowing if a Haitian nurse already gave it or gives it right after you...incredibly dangerous. The communication is terrible, and there are too many patients and not enough time to try to figure out what in the world any of the Haitians are doing! We have been asked to educate them, but when you have a lady walk in having at ST elevated MI (active heart attack) and a 1 month old baby hardly breathing at the same time...you're lucky if you can even find a syringe that matches the random IV supplies. Oh, and did I mention we have one monitor? Yeah,the MI lady was on it all day.

I think we have plenty of supplies, but no one knows where anything is and even if you had the thermometer one second, good luck finding it in 5 minutes. Nothing has a place.

The people here are incredibly patient. But also very frustrating when there is absolutely nothing wrong with them and they won't get out of the way so that you can actually care for someone who is ill.

I have seen very little, if any trauma, that has anything to do with the earthquake. If I had been on the ortho floor that would probably be different. But the ER is also the Med Surg ICU so we are treating DKA, MIs,asthma, car accidents and stubbed toes all in two hallways. The physicians are as kind as they can be, but have little time to address all the patient. I was writing prescriptions this afternoon doing my best to remember fairly accurate doses...yeah.

Thank God no one is checking behind us.

On a brighter note, my little man from surgery last night was discharged home today doing well, and I just ate my first MRE...which was really good!