(Note: '5' in Thai is pronounced 'ha', so Thai people often use 555 instead of "hahaha" to show that they find something funny or amusing.)
My second day at the pharmacy started off much the same as the previous morning, but after P'Boon (3rd from the right) took me with her as they went to make visits at patient's homes. In Thailand, it is called home healthcare. A physician, nurse and pharmacist (and sometimes volunteers from the patient's village) go directly to the patient and this way they are able to check up on the patient, as well as the patient's family. They check to make sure the patient understands how to take their medication and if not, they can show them how. For example, a patient we saw today was being treated for asthma and stroke, but was using her inhaler incorrectly. Instead of exhaling while administering the steroid, she was inhaling, thus the medication was only coating the inside of her mouth and not getting to her lungs. They showed her how and watched as she tried to make sure she knew how for in the future.
Anyways, yesterday was our first "official" working day at the hospital. P'JOie is our coordinator at the AngThong hospital. Even though she herself has a hectic schedule and is immensely busy, running around from place to place, she is always bubbly, hilarious and so cheerful each time we see her. She makes sure we can find our way around the hospital and comes to get us for lunch. Not to mention, in her ID badge picture she looks gorgeous! Like a movie star. She organized schedules for all of us. Claire, Amanda, DianAA, and I will be rotating through the many departments in the hospital (pharmacy, physical therapy, NICU, adult ward, children's ward, laboratory, operating room, and emergency room) spending about two days in each.
My first rotation (Monday & Tuesday) was in the in-patient pharmacy. The first day, I helped fill prescriptions. They receive about two hundred plus orders a day and need to finish preparing them by 9:00/10:00 AM, so that the medications can be administered to the patients in the morning.
The tablets and capsules are organized alphabetically on shelves separate from the injections and vials. Anti-HIV and tuberculosis drugs are stored in another location. On the printout, the name of the drugs prescribed (brand name and generic), type of formulation, quantity needed, and directions for usage are displayed to make finding the correct medication and number easier.
After the pharmacists find all the right medications, they then give the baskets to the head pharmacist, so she may double check. Afterwards, I prepackaged and labelled five thousand ferrous furmurate tablets by twenties into small, clear bags. Also, put "high alert" stickers onto the nicardepine injections. The pharmacy uses these labels to let the nurses know that this drug need to be monitored carefully, as too much can be dangerous to the patient's health. When "high alert" drugs are prescribed a special paper with cautionary information is placed along with the drug. Additionally, after the nurses must check the patient's blood pressure, heart rate, and other vital signs every few minutes.
Everyone at the pharmacy was super nice and kept buying me food to try and bought me lunch both days. Noodle soup on Day 1. Pad Thai, mangosteen, rambutan, durian, and fried tofu with spicy dipping sauce and cucumbers on Day 2. #spoiled
In the evening, I met my host mom's sister and when we got home, my host sister took me to the neighborhood market, which is held every Monday and Thursday. We got sushi, cakes and salads for dinner.
Also heard the most hilarious story about NEEcole yesterday, but I'll let her tell it.
Oh! Here are some pictures of my home stay!
Khun yai really likes plants, so there are many all around the house. Tiny cacti! So cute! ^^
Today, I had breakfast at home. Fried rice with egg and hotdogs.
Not your traditional breakfast, but still yummy. At 6:40 AM, we left for the hospital. From 7:00 to 8:00 AM, I watched my host mom as she expertly dealt with the masses of people waiting for their appointments. According to her, the hospital serves approximately 1,000 patient every day! There are 13 departments and each patient gets a color coded slip of paper when they sign in.
After lunch, I prepacked more medications (topical cream to alleviate inflammation, potassium chloride syrup).
That's all for now!
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