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Published: August 14th 2008
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Hi All,
Just finished my 4th shift for my introductory week to Timaru Hospital. Randy and I left Christchurch last Saturday IN THE SNOW and had a leisurely trip south-the 2 hour drive took us quite a bit longer as we stopped often for pictures and gawking. We also stopped in the very quaint town of Geraldine quite close to Timaru for lunch. By the time we arrived, it was sunny, which was quite nice. The town is a little bigger than I had imagined, and it is in a lovely location between the sea and the snow capped mountains to the west. I always wanted to live in a beach town; I just never envisoned myself bundled up in my winter clothes strolling the beach!!We are living in temporary housing until September; it is a roomy private 3 bdrm ranch home behind a motel. We even have a separate driveway. Our car from the hospital was parked and waiting for us in the driveway. It is a light blue 2002 Toyota Camray stationwagon. The house is fully equipped but was very cold when we first arrived. Most of the houses have very little insulation and all the rooms are
separately heated with electric heaters, which doesn't seem very efficient. We also have a lovely sunroom that does heat up nicely when the sun comes out!!
I only had one full day to get oriented to the town. We did a little shopping at the "Warehouse," (a Kmart type store) for some household items, and of course we needed some grocery items.There are 4 supermarkets in town. The main drag, Stafford Street, has lots of shops and restaurants-it dates back to the late 1800's when Timaru was (reportedly) a booming town, but the shop facades are quite modern. It's nicer than a mall. You can walk to the beachfront area or to the working ports; in the summer they have a lot of festivals here. There is a rose garden, an aviary, a skateboard park and mini golf. Near the hospital is a Botanic Garden. I haven't gotten to explore past the main town, but Randy has gone a bit further afield. I am enclosing some pictures of the town; I think it is quite charming, and people seem to be very friendly. There are a lot of motels, and I'm not quite sure why, since except for
the local "Wawa"
"Night and Day" store the festivals I doubt Timaru is a destination in itself, but it is the gateway to Mt Cook and points south and west, so perhaps that it why.
To give you an idea of some of the burning issues in town, the Timaru Herald reported on the front page yesterday that a family had lost their beloved cat. Please help to find it. Another headline read,"Police busting to catch peeing perpetrator" with details about some guy who, "pees up in the air in a big arc so it goes in the coin slot and out the hole where people collect their tickets." The conclusion was, "It's obviously a male without prostate problems" and the police "would like to see the offender forced to clean up someone else's pee if they are caught."
I got thrown directly into the fire my first day at work with very little orientation. Of course, the staff claims it was one of the busiest days they ever had. (over 70 patients) I asked them if the medical term "magnet" was one they use here, and they understood immediately what I meant!! There will be a lot of challenges here as the
ER handles a lot of orthopoedics that I am not familiar with. The ER docs reduce, cast, and follow up a lot of the routine fractures. Many of the drugs, doses and lab values are completely unfamiliar to me. I will write more in a separate email about the medical aspects of my experience so far. However, I have not seen ONE drug seeker. Tylenol (Panadol) and ibuprofen actually WORK here for pain!! Really serious pain warrants "codeine" or maybe tramadol!!
There are a number of terms that I am hearing frequently that are typically "Kiwi." Patients complain that they may feel 'unsettled', "unwell", or have the "niggles"(just like what it sounds). Many people end a conversation with "cheers" even if they are not cheery!! Diapers are nappies, "tea" is supper and coffee breaks are "teatime".Just a little is "wee". Nurses are always telling people to "pop" into this room or over there.
I overheard two amazing conversations today. One was when the nurse manager who came out to tell two of the ER nurses that they hadn't taken enough vacation time, so she was GIVING them time off at the end of the month (and
yes, there is a nursing shortage here!!). The other one was between a nurse who moved here about a year ago from England, formerly a city girl, and a local Kiwi who was more of a farm girl. The English nurse wants to adopt a lamb as a pet for her children,and was asking the Kiwi what to feed it. This would be a lamb who might be a triplet and whose mother didn't have enough milk to feed it.
Me: How would you get a lamb, anyway?
Kiwi: Oh, you just make it known that you want a lamb and someone will give you one
English: What will I feed it? (thus ensues a converation about how to feed the lamb, buying special lamb formula)
Kiwi: You are going to eat it when it's grown, right?
English: (horrified) No, of course not, it is going to be our pet!!
Kiwi: Well, why would you go to all that trouble and expense of feeding it if you're not going to eat it?
English: It's going to be our pet!!It's going to have a name! You wouldn't eat your dog, would you?
Kiwi: When I lived in Australia,
we had pet baby kangaroos. They were really cute; you would hold them in your arms like an infant and give them a bottle, and then they would climb inside your shirt to cuddle. Then, when they'd get to be about 2 feet high, you'd send them out into the wild
Me: How did they live after being domesticated like that?
Kiwi: Oh, you know, they're boys, they are just fine. To the English nurse: Are you getting a boy or a girl lamb?
Eng: I'd like a girl.
Kiwi: If you get a boy, you just put a band around its testicles and in a while they just fall off
Eng: I'd freak out if I were walking in my front yard and I saw some dead testicles lying there!!
OK, so some of the conversations are unlike any I've heard or participated in back home!!
So after this introduction to the hospital I now have 5 days off. Randy and I are heading north past Christchurch towards Kaikora,Blenheim and Picton. We'll see how far we get. The weather outlook is not great, but Kiwis are hardy, so I will try to be. (I am NOT swimming
local church
notice the mountains behind it in the ocean, however!!)
Cheers!
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Kevin Kolack
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What fun!
Sounds like a great start/continuation/whatever to the trip!