Um...I should also add surfing the net and watching TV to the heading as well, but then I wouldn't have anything else to say here.
I suppose, I could just give some general observations from my stay here.
1. Hospital food- we get it for free here. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is all paid for. I've never gotten so many non-water drinks with my meals in my life. My favorite so far is the "all natural" Mango Snapple. We've had some weird dishes though. The "Mexican Lasagna" with corn in it jumps to mind. When in doubt, there's always a decent salad bar. I'm a big fan of cherry tomatoes, kidney beans, and cottage cheese. One of the cooks is a professional chef and he makes all sorts of pastries that are pretty good.
2. Foreign doctors- there are a lot of them here. Residents and post-training physicians alike. The big winners here are the Indians and Arabs. Unfortunately, the hospital's website could use some cultural competency. One of the listed languages for the Indian docs are "Indian" and for one of the Filipino docs, his language compentencies include "Filipino." Needless to say, within the health care system, there's quite a spectrum of "diversity." Of course, the hospital's motto isn't "Hey, we're PC" but rather "It's the people." So I guess in this respect, a little ignorance doesn't hurt.
3. Antique shops and dollar stores- there are a lot of them here. I am a sucker for them. This past weekend I spent a lot of time in them. Until the weather clears up, these will be my source of entertainment.
4. Super Walmarts- there are a couple around here. They remind me that I have still some connection to civilization.
5. On probably being the only non-physician Asian here-- I think I want to be the only here because it would make me special. Until I see another one, I will continue to think this and revel in my uniqueness.
6. Public health issues-- Over the last week I've been exposed to many of the issues that I have learned about when it comes to underserved populations. Seeing them firsthand, through the physicians interacting with patients, watching the hospice/home care/physical therapy/medical discharge teams collaborate, or even walking around town, I realize that sometimes, I'd rather not face these issues and leave them for other people to take care of. But that's stupid, right? I shouldn't be in medicine if I didn't want to deal with them in the first place.
7. This morning, I noticed that there were literally five churches along two blocks. There are 39 churches in a town of 16,000. I don't know what to make of that.
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