Jess 'Summary of time at Chea Chumeas Hospital

A Summary of Our Time At Chey Chumneas Referral Hospital

It's difficult to summarize our experience volunteering with Rose and observing physicians at the Chey Chumneas Hospital in Takmao. There were aspects that were disconcerting, such as watching a hernia repair and a total hysterectomy performed with only local anesthesia. Other differences between US and Cambodian surgical procedures seemed more comical and adaptive to the climate. Operations were performed in flip-flops, some doctors went shirtless under their surgical gowns, and every now and then the anesthesiologist would grab a bug zapper shaped like a tennis racket and swing it through the air, making a loud cracking sound as it killed mosquitoes.

The hospital itself was beautiful. Although the buildings were rather plain and poorly stocked compared to the high tech hospital rooms I worked in last year, they also seemed more inviting and family-oriented. Doors and windows were wide open, Bougainvillea blossoms surrounded most of the compound, and families took a more active role in feeding and caring for the sick. This may have been necessary, since the hospital probably doesn't have a budget for kitchens or extra nurses or aids, but it was still nice to see. Danielle and I had several talks about how the US could learn a thing or two from Cambodia about creating an environment conducive to healing. As long as that environment still includes general anesthesia.

Of course, the most inspiring part of our experience was watching the work of intelligent, dedicated people as they tried to improve the lives of others. Many of the doctors had worked longer and harder than ever would have been necessary in the US to obtain an education and competently practice medicine. While a few seemed like stereotypical type A achievers, others took the time to carefully explain complicated procedures in a foreign language to 2 clueless American girls, made room around the operating table and invited us to peak over their shoulders, let us take a few pictures for Bill to share with Rose supporters, and managed to play host to us while holding someone's life in their hands.

And then there was the Rose staff. Dr. Sarom was performing surgeries from dawn to dusk the entire time we were there for an Operation Smile initiative, but still helped us observe surgeries at the hospital in his absence. Sokny played tour guide during our trip to the countryside, showed us some of his amazing work, and let us practice our dismal Khmer on him over lunch. Rith, the office administrator, introduced us to doctors and helped find people for us to shadow. And of course our BFFs Bill and Jan went out of their way to find opportunities for us, entertained us with dinners, serenades, trivia nights, and stories from their travels, and generally spoiled us.

Despite a few miscommunications and the fact that a few of the doctors didn't seem to know what to do with us other than lose us like Jason Bourne losing an FBI tail, the time we spent at Rose gave us an incredible opportunity to observe the everyday operation of a health care system that is vastly different from the one we're used to. Our experiences were more than we'd hoped for, and probably much more than we are entitled to as an art/math grad and a premed student. We've become believers in the effectiveness of Rose, and with the help of Bill and Jan are already lining up more Rose-endorsed charities to volunteer with in Uganda and Nairobi. If any of you have cash burning a hole in your pocket and want to find a reputable charity to donate to, this one's a keeper.