Guest Blogger
Sally Greenwald
Sally Greenwald is a MD MPH student at a medical school in Boston. She is a dancer, a flutist, a swim lesson instructor, a right fielder in softball, and is conversationally fluent in French. She graduated from Tufts University in 2007 and spent a year as Guest Representative of the Emergency Room and Clinical Researcher of the ED at Stanford Hospital.
Sally intends to become a physician because she finds medicine to be the powerful synergy between her fascination with the molecular body and her innate tendency to connect with others. She is an active volunteer in underserved global communities.
Blank Slate
The pediatric hospital I worked at was built out of the old residence compound for the Mexican Ambassador. This is not an absurd transition as many of the hospitals, schools, and orphanages in Port Au Prince were transformed from some other structure previously used for a completely different purpose or by a different political regime.
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Pre-Quake
I used to look at this picture of a Haitian boy and think about what he’s doing. I met him while working at HUEH hospital, in Port Au Prince when I was visiting last November. He lives in a metal crib with 4 other disabled, abandoned children in a room that smells like urine and [...]
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What Does Disaster Medicine look like?
Partners in Health, a nonprofit that has been working in Haiti for years, sent out an email to the medical community shortly after the quake asking for orthopedic and trauma surgeons. Most other organizations followed similar guidelines, including a team from Stanford composed entirely of ER doctors and nurses. This is because the type of [...]
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There’s No Need to Reinvent the Wheel
As you’ve been reading in my previous blogs, seeing healthcare in a developing country has affected how I view the U.S. reform. I’m frustrated by its complexity, I’m confused by our waste, I’m annoyed by the politics, and I’m concerned for those without coverage.
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A Discussion of Medical Tourism
Traveling to a 3rd world country is an eye opening experience. Rarely in the US do you see the clinical manifestations of disease such as Kaposi Sarcoma, or corneal scaring with Vit A deficiency. However, the educational value needs to be shared by both visiting and local physicians. In addition to equipment, physical resources, and [...]
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What Can We Learn from Doctors Practicing in Developing Countries?
I shadowed an OB/GYN physician at a ‘family planning’ clinic financially supported by an international NGO with religious roots. He wore a tie, a nice watch, and was educated in the country. Patients were triaged by the nurse, this included weight and information gathering about family history, last menstrual period, etc., and then seen by [...]
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Paying for Healthcare When $15 Could Save a Life
I was told by one of the local residents that pediatric death due to septic shock is a huge problem. Children coming into the ER in Port Au Prince are carried on foot by their parents, assessed by the physician, and then the family (in the case of sepsis) is told that rehydration (a bag [...]
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Patient Privacy
The Labor and delivery room in the main government hospital in downtown Port Au Prince is a single room with 25 or so metal beds placed 5 feet apart all facing center. There are 2″ thick pads on the bed that are wiped off with a towel in between patients. Nurses, six of them, stand [...]
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Next Year
“Be the change you want to see in the world”-Gandhi. For my best friend, I’ll be confident in my ability to make decisions. For my sister, I’ll be easy-going. For my mom, I’ll involve myself in more than just my work.
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First Interview. Lesson Learned.
I wish I had not discussed other applicants’ medical success and failures (actually no one admits failures) before walking into my interview. Hearing from the applicant next to me about her masters in biochemistry, and her 11 other interviews she’d had by November (many from schools I had not yet heard from) was slightly counterproductive [...]
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