Today was our first day in the hospital. We were all anxious to see the hospital and to see what our roles would be. As the largest group Belmont has sent to Cambodia it was interesting figuring out where each person would go in the small hospital in order to balance experiences and staffing. The group began the day by touring the hospital areas including ER, OR, surgical ward, medical ward, pharmacy, outpatient clinic and chronic care facility. We met many of the staff who are familiar with the Belmont groups and they welcomed us graciously.


After we split up into groups, I took three students with me to the Emergency Room/Wound Care area. The emergency room is divided into four areas: triage, main ER, infectious disease, and wound care clinic. All patients admitted through the hospital are triaged through the ER. The day began busily with many patients waiting outside for triage through the ER and several patients already inside. One student was paired with a nurse in the infectious disease area where she was able to work with acutely ill HIV patients and patients suspected of having tuberculosis, meningitis and other tropical infections. Several severely ill patients came into this area who were admitted to the hospital. One young woman came in with a high fever, low blood pressure, tachypnea and decreased level of consciousness. After working with the patient, drawing blood, and admitting her it was later found out that she has septic pneumocystis pneumonia as a complication of late stage AIDS.

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