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Published: June 10th 2009
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I have spent two more days in Mora since I last wrote. They have been very busy and I am so tired - I guess that is the life of doctor. My body is also aching from standing for so long. But it has been a very fun last two days.
Yesterday I assisted in a arthroscopic knee surgery. I scrubbed in and Pierre showed me how to use the camera - I think more video games as a child would have helped me out there! It's hard to only be able to see what you're doing through a video screen! I also got to do my first stitches, which was pretty scary considering I didn't know what I was doing. Luckily I caused no damage.
The rest of the day I spent in the outpatient clinic. This clinic is right in the hospital and is where the orthopedic surgeons see people who have been referred by a primary care doctor or others who they have operated on previously. I found this very interesting because I got to meet so many different people and hear about different cases. I was again amazed by how well everyone speaks English. When
the doctor's I was with told the patients that I spoke only a little Swedish, they would carry out their entire visit in English. It is mostly only the old people who do not speak Swedish, and then the doctor would translate everything for me.
After the day in the hospital I was invited to dinner by one of the interns at the hospital (interns are between their medical school and residency). Oskar and his wife Anna (who is pregnant with their first child) cooked a wonderful meal for me of a baked taco dish and a ice cream cake. It was so easy to talk to them and we talked for hours about Sweden and the US. I learned about their political system, their religious practices, how to get into medical school in Sweden, and how the economic crisis has affected Sweden. They also told me about things to do in Uppsala, where they are from and where I am going next.
Following dinner we took a drive into the country to visit one of their favorite places in the area. It is on the top of a hill overlooking Lake Orsajon that was once used as
a summering place for cattle. It was really beautiful and week took pictures there and looked around. Oskar and Anna also offered to take me around to other places on Saturday. It was so wonderful to be welcomed by a family so warmly and I am hoping to take them up on their offer.
Today I arrived and went on rounds with the doctors and nurses as they visited all of their patients in the hospital. The orthopedic ward is split into three parts and each part is assigned to a doctor and nurse. After hospital rounds I saw an X-ray round. This is done every day and all of the orthopedic doctors look at x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans from the previous day. Each case is discusses and a plan of action is given. This allows the doctors to make sure that every case was handled appropriately.
I watched two surgeries today. The fist was a shoulder surgery involving the removal of a bursa. The doctors used cameras to locate the injury and determine if it was repairable and then they made and incision and repaired the problem. After one of the doctors left I assisted the
other doctor by holding the incision open and clipping sutures.
The second surgery was a total hip replacement. I was amazed by the use of power tools in this procedure. The doctors used a drill that was literally called "Power Saw" to cut off the femoral head. Then a drill that looked like it came right out of a James Bond movie was used to remove all of the cartilage in the acetabulum. Finally, an 8-inch knife with spikes on all sides was stuffed down the femur to remove all of the bone marrow. It was two hours of bone cracking and blood spurting, making me never want to have this surgery myself!
I got off early today so I biked to the Vasaloppet museum. The Vasaloppet is the world's longest cross-country ski race and its finish line is in Mora so it was interesting to learn about this important part of the town's culture.
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