My current anesthesia rotation is at Valley Medical Center in San Jose. I was last here about a year ago for my medicine rotation, and I am happy to be back. It's a little bit of a commute, but I love the county hospital feel. The underserved population reminds me of the importance of health care reform, the immigrant population allows me to practice my Spanish and Mandarin, the hospital's wide catchment area allows me to care for diverse diseases, illnesses, and injuries including trauma and burns. Although resources are quite limited, the heart and passion of providers to care for this community is overwhelming and inspiring.
The operating room setting feels like the Veterans' Administration; it's a small group of anesthesiologists and surgeons operating in about 12 rooms. There are some differences between Valley and the other hospitals though. Because resources are limited, we are extremely aware of wasted medications, turnover time, and costs. At night, there is no anesthesia tech so we make our own IV bags, set up our own equipment, and calibrate our own instruments. The hospital uses a hybrid electronic and paper medical record so we don't have all the information about our patients until we meet them. And yet, the efficiency is impressive; I feel that the pace is just as brisk as the other hospitals I've seen.
Image is in the public domain, from Wikipedia.
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