R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Highlight of the day: In the evening, we all went to an Irish Pub for dinner and to watch the soccer game between Mexico and Peru. Our friend David brought us, and we were all yelling random Spanish words to try to fit in with all the screaming and cheering when there was a goal. 

While we were waiting to order dinner, I tried to take a
picture of Alex and DJ. This is the best they would give me.

     Today was fairly similar to yesterday, but in a family medical practice, no two days are ever the same. Family medicine is always interesting because the doctor is required to be knowledgeable about the majority of the medical specialties. There were many cases of diabetes and hypertension today, but there were also quite a few patients with work-related injuries.

A portion of the clinical guide.

     Dra. Magda and I discussed the Mexican health care system at length today. We kept coming back to the idea that doctors are given the utmost respect by their patients. Dra. Magda could answer her personal phone and talk to her mom in the middle of a patient's consultation. None of the patients ever complained about being seen later than their scheduled appointment, nor did Dra. Magda apologize. Patients are (almost) never rude or unpleasant to doctors, and this attitude greatly influences the doctor-patient interactions. Sometimes patients even bring homemade treats or small gifts to the doctors. The physician-patient relationship is very important to both parties, and the trust and respect that the patients have for their doctors is always evident.

     Another aspect of the health care system that we discussed was the systematic way in which doctors are to treat patients. There is a guide, Guías de practica clínica, written by Dra. Delia (the doctor Savannah was shadowing) that is a condensed version of the guidelines from IMSS and that addresses what a doctor should do in a particular situation. For example, in the section on birth control, there is a definition, advice to the reader on how to address the patient, a list of requirements from medical history, a classification of the medicine, and descriptions of different options the patient may have available. There are comprehensive sections similar to this for nearly any medical concern that could arise in a family practice.

Dinner was great! It was nice to have
a little American food for a change.

     Overall, the day was not extremely eventful. I tried a carrot gelatin at lunch, which was interesting. The only dessert I had ever had carrots in was carrot cake! The cafeteria was serving flautas for lunch, which are one of my favorite Mexican foods. I was very excited to chow down. The last flautas I ate were drizzled with mole sauce and filled with fresh vegetables, but plain cheese flautas with salsa sounds great to me as well. For dinner, at the Irish Pub McCarthy's, I had a chicken sandwich with french fries. The portions here are so large, I seem to have a stack of leftovers in the fridge that just keeps growing. Plus I have some fresh fruits and veggies to snack on as well. I'm positive I'll be eating well for the duration of my time here!