Work has been interesting.  Practicing pathology with minimal resources.  Walk from home to hospital takes about 2 minutes.

After 9 AM hallways are full of patient’s waiting to be seen, some on crutches, some obviously ill, dressed in a multitude of different clothing items.  After passing by the theater (aka operating room) and radiology, we turn down the hall to enter pathology.

We must be the quietist place in the hospital. 

The gross room is about is a small closet, well maybe 6x6 feet, or so.  The ventilation is a window that opens to the sunshine and a partial mountain view.  There is a fan, no hood, no soap, a weak stream of running water, no paper towels, no blue towels.    There is DRAGON recognition software (which can be quite frustrating) and a filthy keyboard.  A plastic apron and gloves are the only protective gear.  Steve would be horrified!

Specimens come in various pill bottles, vacutainers, sometimes taped shut, sometimes leaking.

Variety of specimens is incredible.  Mastectomies stuffed in jars, tons of thyroids (due to iodine deficiency), derm, neuro, pediactric, pediactric neruo, sarcomas, lymphomas, at least 2 TB cases per day.  It’s been a week and we’ve seen an unbelievable variety.