A Queensland Sunday Evening

Hello all,

     So sorry its been so long since we added anything to the blog.  A lot has happened so here we go.

     First and foremost I started work.  Yes you heard right I am now officially employed.  No one was happier to have me out the house than Lindsay.  I started last Monday and for the 5 days last week I shadowed the other attendings (or as they are called consultants) on the shift.  At least that was the plan.  By Friday I was attempting to run part of the department by myself with just a few pointers from the other docs.  

     I wouldn't call the transition difficult, however the waters have been a little choppy.  Although the medicine is essentially the same, the devil is in the logistics of providing the medical care.  One of the biggest hurdles I have encountered is drug names.  It sure seems like a minor annoyance, but it really can be confusing.  I told my first patient with an ache to take Motrin and Tylenol.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  So I had to sheepishly ask the custodian who was near by to help me with the name.  I'm sure that patient was filled with confidence.

The next big difference is that there are doctors and residents under me that can see a patient, come up with a plan and discharge the patient without every talking to me.  This is very very scary for a doc such as myself who has gone through the medical training process.  But this is how it is done.

     Lastly and probably most interestingly is dealing with some of the cultural differences in attitude.  For example, a 89 year old man arrives from the nursing home after hitting his head.  He is at baseline bed bound and demented.  In the US system, we have been trained to do a full workup including a CT of the head.  When I attempted to do this, I received resistance from all sides.  The residents and the radiologists both felt that since we probably were not going to do anything about it, a CT would be a waste of time and money.  What they are saying makes sense, its just hard to change practice so drastically.  We'll see how it goes.

    It was a crazy week for both of us.  Lindsay continues to be swamped with work.  Anyway, once the week was over, Lindsay and I headed down to Palmer St. for a nice dinner of Australian tapas and a mojito.  Afterward we moved to another place where we ran into one of our new Aussie mates.  We don't have that many mates, so to run into one on a Friday night says something about the size of the town.  We had a few VB (victorian bitters) and passionately discussed which was the more lethal in the history of Australia, crocs or coconuts. One other thing was discussed.  Trivia time!!!  Can you name the only two warm blooded animals that are also venomous?  Hint:  They live in Australia.  

      Yesterday morning we got up, got packed and headed back up the Great Green Way toward Cairns.  Two hours and 45 minutes later we just missed the ferry to our destination: Dunk island.  So we had a bite to eat and caught the next ferry.  We had read about this destination in the guide book, but as we pulled into the harbor past what appeared to be a replica of an old pirate ship, we were blown away.  It was beautiful.  It was a tropical island right out of Jurassic Park or Pirate of the Caribbean.  We grabbed our things and checked into our campsite in the middle of the rainforest.  The only other alternative to camping is paying $300/night at the one resort on the island.  We had a beachfront "room" and private beachfront dining for $10/night. And the campsite even had a nice hot shower and a complimentary wildlife safari.  Ask Lindsay about the spider.

  After getting the tent up and going for a little walk to "Muggy Muggy Beach" we took a bottle of Shiraz, some sandwich fixins and a variety pack of Tasmanian Cheese down to the waters edge, and had dinner while the sun set.  Really a memorable evening (especially since later I killed Lindsay while playing rummy in the tent).  

     Today we got up and took a 13K stroll to the top of the island and around the back side.  After a great fish and chips lunch, we got back on the ferry and headed back to Townsville.  

The housing search continues.  Although it is responsible and economically sound, Lindsay has given the thumbs down to living in a van down by the river.  I keep telling her at least we wouldn't have to move a fourth time.  Speaking of moving, our Aussie friend returns to Townsville on Sunday so we've got to move out of her apartment.  There's a good chance we'll be checking into a motel this coming weekend if we're able to sign for the apartment we want (which is available on the 21st).