Blogs from Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Oceania

Papua New Guinea is challenging us but it is a rewarding place. Our first morning is spent on the Rondon ridge spotting Birds of Paradise. The male birds have ridiculously long tails of over a metre. They look all the more unreal as the swirling morning mist moves across this jungle covered mountain slope. Spotting the birds is not easy, dark against a bright sky and the jungle foliage of the canopy provides ample cover. But as it gets brighter we see more and more birds, feeding and calling around us. We even see occasional flashes of iridescent blue feathers, displayed fully only in the birds’ courtship dances. The 4 am start and the steep muddy climb to the ridge were worth it. Organising getting to PNG was complex but Pym and his small local tour ... read more

For the past week, I have been rounding on the medical ward with Dr. Bill. On the medical ward, interestingly enough, many of the problems that we manage are very similar to those on a medical ward in the US: COPD exacerbation, congestive heart failure exacerbation, pneumonia, etc. And then there are some cases that I have never seen on a medical ward at home: typhoid, osteomyelitis, malaria. After rounds end in the morning, usually sometime between 9:00 and 10:00, we head over to the outpatient department (OPD) and start seeing all the outpatients for the day. The way this works is that patients will line up outside the hospital, nurses will screen patients to see who actually needs to see a physician, they then come and wait inside to see the next available doctor, five ... read more

Life on Station Kudjip Nazarene Hospital (now officially known as Nazarene General Hospital Jiwaka) is part of a large mission station in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (the elevation here is about 5200 ft.). There are quite a few missionary families that live on station, as do many of the national staff. One of the great things about this is that everything is within walking distance. My guest flat is about a 3 minute walk from the hospital. To walk to the houses on the other end of the station takes maybe 7 or 8 minutes. The other missionaries on station are great company. I’ve been invited over to dine with several times with different families and it’s always a wonderful time. My quarters consist of a two bedroom flat with a kitchenette. The water ... read more

Scrubbing In Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week I have been with Dr. Jim Radcliffe is surgery. On Tuesday, I got to scrub in for the first time. The procedure was a biliary bypass. The patient had an inoperable tumor obstructing the bile duct from the gallbladder, so Dr. Jim incised and drained the gallbladder, incised the stomach, and then sutured the gallbladder to the stomach so that the bile will now drain into the stomach. During this operation, I got to hold retractors, clamps, and sutures, suction blood and bile, and once Dr. Jim was finished suturing the fascia, he left to fill in the patient's charts and I stapled the epidermis back together. Other operations I saw on Tuesday included two tubal ligations, a finger amputation, and a colostomy. Wednesday was a day ... read more

Security Guards and Puppies The security guards at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital are hired through a third party, Asila Security Services (conveniently abbreviated ASS, with badges places on their hats and sleeves). These guys are pretty nice and friendly when you talk to them, but most of the time they strut around, empowered by their uniforms. Sometimes they carry a bushknife or a club as guns aren't legal in the country. At the front gate, the guards will often question each person entering the hospital area. They will act like they're doing you a favor when they let you pass. White people are an exception though; they hurry to open gates for us and greet us. Again, they're really nice guys, they just like having authority. Anyway, one day after I finished in ER, I made the ... read more