This blog was written in September, and is now published late.
It was a solo day in clinic. I was inadvertently scheduled for 7 patients in the first hour. That would work with my stellar Sea Mar support staff, but here I have one exam room, and I do the vitals, labs etc. The patients remained cheerful as I fell behind, seeing 28 patients in total. This included my 1st nursing home visit, a sad occasion, as someone had passed on. The end of the day was capped off by a rural visit to a near centurion's house, who said the key to her long life was having a spot of tea every day. I am learning the tea habit myself, as Allison, the Clinic Manager, brings me a cup or two of tea daily. I take it with out additions, as I don't need those calories. It helps me hydrate, as I forget to drink fluids at times. I suppose there is caffeine, which is why I have avoided these beverages all my life. As a medical student, I was in the minority, but I avoided the caffeine roller coaster. I have been somewhat naturally wired at this clinic,as I work to stay on time with patients, which has always been my passion.
One patient nearly had his thumb amputated, I thought about what I could do, but sending him to A and E was the best choice. A and E stands for accident and emergency, which is the Irish version of the ER. Amazingly, the patient did not admit to much pain, and he drove himself to the hospital, an hour and a half away. The A and E is crowded, like in the states. People typically wait hours to be seen, and then getting an inpatient bed can take even more time.
My office is also my exam room. Patients sit in the chair opposite my desk, and I take a history. Then they get on the exam table, I check the vitals as needed, and draw their blood and give vaccines, as needed. Ear speculums are cleaned and reused. The patients are quite friendly and grateful for their medical care. Anyone with chronic pain does not expect or want narcotics, which is way different from my community clinic population. It is remarkable how another culture looks at pain differently. Diabetes is quite common, although obesity is not nearly as present as it is in the US. Also there is a high incidence or hemochromatosis, and iron and B12 deficiency.
St Kieran's Festival takes place this week in Kilkieran (Chil Chiarain), the village next to our house. This festival is in honor or the town's patron saint. Stephen's school even gets out at 11:00, for the celebration of mass, outdoor at the town cemetery. The priest commented last year that he did not see enough children at that mass. Also there will be an expert pig roaster, who will roast a pig, an all day event. There are also games, where children kick a soccer ball thru a hole, and adult men and women tug a wars. Also, another contest involving Guinness, to be explained in a future blog. The highlight of the festival is the Galway Hooker races, involving beautiful, often old, locally made Irish sailing vessels. More on this event in an upcoming blog,as well.
The unemployment rate here is worse than in the US, and most people feel that the worst is yet to come. I hope that the US economy has bottomed out, perhaps leading the world out of this terrible recession. It is sad to see so many able bodied unemployed people come to the clinic. At least they all have health care coverage. They are paid 200 euros, per week, about $260. I imagine housing is pricey, although the bottom dropped out of the real estate market here a couple of years ago. Average houses were going for a million euro. That seems impossible to afford then and now. I have been in many houses, some quite cramped and basic, with many relations sharing close quarters.
The Irish Times newspaper did a recent survey. The old morals of this predominantly Catholic nation are changing. People feel that the Pope and many of his ideals are outdated. He is visiting the U.K. this week. Also, I talked to a local person this week, who expressed some concerns about the US. He said that historically we were a country of strong individualism. He said our trends like health care mandates (which I personally support, due to seeing the consequences of the uninsured in the community health clinic I work at, in Washington state),etc, may be concerning. He relates the high tax rates, and heavy government involvement in Ireland, and the other European countries. These countries have really stagnated recently. He says the Irish look to the US as having a historically innovative and individualistic society as its best traits.
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