Women's Ward "Salome"

"Salome" in Hebrew means peace. That's the name of the Women's Ward here in Kijabe where I have volunteered to work (and which makes me feel anything but peaceful). I say volunteer because they did give me a choice. I was told by some wise residents who were just here in Kijabe that the Men's Ward might be a little more peaceful and less costly of your time and stress. But somehow I heard a voice come out of my mouth that first day saying "I'll work wherever you need me the most." It's a pretty busy service with some really sick patients which makes the days long and little painful. But I figure I did come here to serve, so I'm digging in and pushing onward. The cases are really interesting so it isn't the medicine that is painful, it's the work-up. Finding the labs you ordered is like a needle in a haystack and then after you've flipped through the unorganized chart three time and ask the nursing staff what happened (because sometimes what you've ordered just doesn't get done), you find out that the patient or their family refused because it was too expensive. So it's going to be a challenge to say the least and the 12 hour days I was warned about by other residents is yes, a reality.
---Katy