St. Vincent's Hospital

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First things first, I've had a lot of people inquire about how close I am to the bush fires. They are at least 30kms from Melbourne, though a lot of people living here have family who have been affected. It really is a sad time here. The death toll was 181 on the news last night, and they are still fighting the fires. Rumor is that the fires were arsons. The country outreach has been amazing though. Australia is a great country, but honestly is such a different world. In the South, there are fires, and in the North, there are floods which are being scavenged by crocodiles. Pretty unreal.

So, day 3 of the hospital, and things are going great. First of all, everyone is RIDICULOUSLY nice here. So much so that they actually go out of their way to make me feel comfortable. Needless to say, that's not exactly how it happens in the USA.

I am on an anesthesiology rotation, working with "anesthetists" as is said in Australia. They are a great bunch, are very friendly, and don't quite like to work very hard. I have about four coffee breaks a day. Their medical education system is quite different than ours, but I am paired with a "consultant", which would be like an attending doctor, and work closely with the "registrars" which would be like our residents. Depending on the doctor or the day, I'm just sitting around the OR or I'm doing a ton of procedures. I've put in arterial lines and IVs and lots of intubations, which is a lot of fun, but otherwise, my day can be a bit boring. Fortunately, everyone is fun to talk to, and they make a lot of recommendations for places to see and eat.

I had dinner with Eli Hoster and his girlfriend, Mel, on Sunday. Eli is originally from South Haven and he met Mel (from Melbourne) while they were working at Vail. They have now been living in Melbourne together for over a year. Eli is a chef and Mel is a pastry chef, so they took me to an AMAZING dinner at an Asian fusion spot called "Cookie". I had a glass of sparkling red wine, an Australian specialty, and it lived up to my highest expectations.

I was going to go to the grape growers festival in South Yarra this weekend, but that was canceled because of the fires. I think I am going to go wine tasting in the Mornington Peninsula instead, but probably later on. I am going to the Victorian Market tonight with the girls I am living with, and then heading off for the Great Ocean Road this weekend. I will make sure to take a ton of photos!

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Comments

[jhopcian]

Yo
Ariel... the blog is amazing! Glad you're having a good time and chillin' with the Aussie Anesthestists. Good people, I'm sure. Love the photos! Keep 'em coming. -Jeff P.S. I started a blog too: www.mytb.org/jhopcian

[Paul]

Your Picture Melbourne
I am doing television commercial and would like to try your pic at the start. It is low budget but i could offer some cash. Could you contact me ASAP [e-mail]