A couple days in the theatre

Hello again!

Esther and I have had the great opportunity to spend the previous two days in the Theatre (operating room). It is a large building that has two theatres (with another planned) and is touted as one of the best in Zambia. Theatre 1 and Theatre 2 are home to some fine modern equipment that was donated by the Czech.

The schedule at the theatre is fixed with general surgeries being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, eyes on Wednesdays, and gyne on Fridays. Weekends and afternoons are reserved for emergencies and Mondays are cleaning days.

Zambian theatre nurses have quite varied roles compared to their Canadian counterparts; because they are often short-staffed, the nurses accept patients, wheel them into surgery, scrub in, and also act as circulating nurses. Although our two days have been light on surgeries, I can definitely see how they could become overloaded fast.

On Monday, we spent the day cleaning. Here, nurses are responsible for 'dusting' which includes scrubbing the walls, cleaning every surface, and mopping the floors. After surgeries, nurses are also responsible for sanitizing the equipment, repacking the tools and kits, and setting up the theatre for the next procedure. The shorter shifts here are understandable when one considers that they are doing the work of several employees.

We were able to see some interesting cases on Tuesday and it was fascinating to see the different way they worked. Esther and I got to scrub in for surgery and we enjoyed being able to get in and experience it with them.

Esther asked the nurse, with whom we have been working, what is most common to see. He replied that hernias, fractures, and Caesars (Caesarian sections) are probably the most common.

We also had a chat with one of the surgeons who explained how he thought that malaria is a larger threat to the area than HIV/AIDS. It definitely opened my eyes because I tend to imagine HIV as being a devastating diagnosis. His argument was that an individual with HIV might live for 15 years if compliant with medications. A patient with malaria, however, may die within a week if untreated. Both illnesses may lead to death but malaria strikes significantly more rapidly.

As planned as it might seem, it's now 1800 which means that it's time for my anti-malarial. I have even more reason to remember to take it on time!