Adam Foss (MP4) tells us about his typical schedule at St. Damien's

Posted on behalf of Adam Foss (MP4)

615 AM- wake up for the day and get ready, always double checking that I took my malarone. I also double check that my pseudo-fanny pack has the essentials for the day- gloves, hand sanitizer, check that the pulse oximeter has working batteries.

630 AM- meet up with the other residents, Hope, Calla, and Abby, for breakfast, which consists of delicious coffee (Rebo) and a roll with peanut butter.

645 AM- leave for the hospital, a short trek down the road. The compound where we are stay is surrounded by a school. We are typically joined by numerous school children on our walk. Several children arrive by "moto" (motorcycle) and are not wearing helmets. The children are all in uniform and will greet us with "bonjour". 

7 AM- arrive at the chapel at St Damien for morning mass lead by Father Rick. Most mornings double as funeral services for patients that have passed away during the last night. Each morning I scan the draped bodies to see if patients I cared for are present.

Chapel window during Mass

8 AM- start rounding on patients in the Urgence area. Patients will stay in the Urgence area until there is room in the hospital or if they are well enough to go home. Typically there are many children with severe malnutrition. I am continually reminded that children who are severely malnourished can also be quite sick from infections including tuberculosis, urinary tract infections, parasitic infections and/or HIV.

Lab tests can take time to track down, with a bit of time going to and from the lab looking for a specific result. I also spend time going to radiology to look at X-rays.  We have no radiologist and read all of our films ourselves. There is a CT scanner at the adult hospital that can do either head CTs or whole body CT scans for infants. The CT scanner is broken this week and will be fixed next week by a technician coming from the US.

1030-11 AM- work with a Haitian physician, discussing patients and the possible causes of fever. I pay particular attention to diseases I don't see in the US including typhoid, malaria, and tuberculosis. 

1 PM- regroup at the hospital and walk back to our compound for lunch with Hope, Calla, and Abby. Our food is made by the St Luc Foundation at a location across the street called "Francesvillle". At Francesville, they train people for a vocation. There is a pasta factory, welding shop, cement block factory, sewing factory and a restaurant. A typical lunch will consist of rice and beans with a chicken or beef for protein as well as a vegetable or fruit. 

Cows on our walk back for lunch

Franceville, a vocational training facility

2 PM-5 PM- return to the hospital and check on patients from the morning. St Damien's recently started a Pediatric Residency and we get to work side by side with the residents in Urgence. It has been great to see them in action. We occasionally process new admissions to Urgence but leave most to the Haitian residents because they want to practice as part of their training program.   We assist with pediatric codes and resuscitations as needed. 

St Damien

Evening: return home and make dinner. I have ramen most nights, which is quick and easy to make. I spend the rest of the evening looking up different diseases observed during the day and have been reviewing the disease course and complications.