Today I had "Provider Orientation" at the hospital which was supposed to be 4 hours long and only lasted 1... usually I would be happy with a class that ends early, but honestly it was something that filled my afternoon and kept me out of the house... oh well! It was pretty interesting to learn about the hospital and how it works a little differently here than a hospital in the U.S. There is a lot we are lacking here as far as specialties and often times the providers have to make decisions to transfer out to a Japanese hospital or transfer to the U.S. for specialty or follow-up services. There are about 6 hospitals out in the community that we transfer to for different specialties... the question that comes up often is regarding the quality of care as the Japanese physicians go to Medical School for only 2 years and then work as "apprentices" for many years to gain their skills and often times the care they receive in the community is very different than the care we provide in an American hospital. The two places in the U.S. that we would consider transferring patients to are San Diego and also Tripler Army Hospital in Hawaii... I was surprised to find out they transfer patients quite often.
There is NO inpatient psychiatric unit here... although they could probably fill it if they had one, there is also no neurosurgeon or cardiologist. It is a younger population but there are also many contractors on base as well that are middle-aged and could potentially have some problems. If you go into premature labor here, they very often send you out to a Japanese Hospital where they can better take care you... however, this may mean NO epidural and giving birth in a room with a whole bunch of other people... yikes! I spoke with the Red Cross Coordinator for the hospital today and she told me they would not be able to place me and I wasn't allowed to do ANY patient care until my security clearance comes back... so at least 2-3 months! I'm putting this out there so everyone can stop asking me if I got a job or if I started volunteering yet... nope and nope... it's gonna be awhile! Also, for anyone who thinks I'm having fun not working for 6 months and thinks I am enjoying this "time off" or "vacation"... all I have to say is "have you met me?" I'm not very good at sitting still and not being busy ALL the time... this is very hard for me!
On a lighter note, I wanted to share the vending machines with you so you could see what they look like... they are everywhere! On the top row of this one they have cans of coffee which are so yummy! Damian and I bought a case of them so we have them in our fridge all the time and they are really good and not too sweet! In many of the vending machine they have apple tea which I don't like at all... it tastes like an apple Jolly Rancher to me. A lot of people like CC Lemon which is a lemon flavored drink but I'm not a big fan of this one either. This particular machine is on the first floor of our building so I've tried most of the stuff in it... and now I know which ones I like and don't like.I'm still pretty homesick... which is weird because I'm not really one to get homesick, but it's hard being on the other side of the world all by yourself... it probably doesn't help that I miss Damian so much! The good news is that our belongings have arrived and were clearing customs this morning... the bad news is they probably won't be delivered for over a week because I'm going away next week... lucky me!
Japanese word of the day:
saishoku-shugisha: vegetarian (I definitely have to write this one down)
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