In addition to providing primary care to HIV-infected kids at Baylor Center of Excellence (COE), the Baylor clinicians also serve as an HIV consult service on the pediatric wards at Kamuzu Central Hospital. KCH is next door to the COE. It is a government hospital and is as busy and understaffed as one can imagine. Because they are already stretched thin, the wards service leans heavy on Baylor so "consult service" is a loose term since we order the meds, do the procedures, talk to patients and make the plans. Eventually I will be spending more time at KCH on the wards, but last week gave me a quick taste of what I was getting into. Lessons learned:
- Just because there isn't hand sanitizer dispensers or sinks with soap every 6 feet doesn't mean there shouldn't be.
- Lumbar punctures on sedated kids in a quiet procedure room are a few pokes easier than on an uneven dirty mattress with 2 other children on it with at least 50 people with a direct line of site to what you are doing.
- If you need to leave the hospital at certain time, do not walk into the High Dependency Unit within 2 hours of your scheduled departure or someone will assign you work, after all, you ARE a doctor.
- Parents at Texas Children's Hospital need to suck it up and be nice to my colleagues including my co-residents and nurses; they have NOTHING to complain about when it comes to the service they get.
- That wet spot on the mattress beneath your hand is probably pee.
- Kids everywhere love stickers... suckers!
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