Welcome back! Week 2 at Niños has wrapped up and we are still doing clinical observations, but with a bit more focus. We spent the week narrowing down what our summer project will be, but more on that later. We are still being flys on the wall, but this week the flies got to fly about the hospital! We were able to sit in on an interdisciplinary meeting for a complex genetic condition. It was interesting to observe how different teams in the hospital interact, and how they can use their different specialties to ensure that the patient is getting the best possible care. We also got to visit the San Juan de Dios hospital that is next door for a consult in the ICU. After working with kids for this long, it was a bit shocking to see patients that are taller than me. In all seriousness, it was neat to see not just how the adult hospital functions, but also how the two work together in order to meet all the patient needs.
And now, it’s later! So here’s a bit about what I aim to focus my project on. I will be diving into how to weigh pediatric patients with mobility aids, specifically wheelchair users. In my observations these past two weeks, it has been a common point of uncomfortable work arounds, and I am excited to dig more into it. We have our first presentation this Friday, so keep an eye out for part of my presentation in next weeks update. 😉
As a midweek twist, on Tuesday, we meet up with Ricardo and Rafael, both of whom we met during the Bootcamp weeks, to go watch the Costa Rican National Fútbol Team play against Trinidad and Tobago. Costa Rica won! I’ve only been to one game before (Go Atlanta United!) and it was really good match to watch, since it was a World Cup Qualifier Match.
After a few more days of work, we spent the weekend exploring around the San Jose area. Saturday, we went on a coffee tour and hiking at La Chimba. It was a bit brutal since it was very muddy (thank you rainy season!), but the views and the art made it well worth the trek. The coffee tour was also fabulous and, as someone who isn’t a huge coffee fan, it was cool to learn about the traditions of coffee and taste some very fresh, and high quality roast.
Sunday was a bit less adventurous as we went to both the Gold and Jade Museums. I loved getting to see all of the pieces, as well as the temporary exhibits (my favorite was the dresses patterned after old colónes). There was also a great deal of pre-colonial history pieces and it was interesting to learn more about the history in a new way. We also had lunch in Chinatown and it was very tasty! Thank you to Apple and Rei for ordering for us. 🙂
This week, we’ll also be around San José and getting more into our projects. I can’t wait to see where the week will take us and, until then, be sure to keep up with the rest of the Costa Rica crew by checking out Apple, Rei, and Connor’s blogs!