I'll preface this by saying two things: firstly, I'm not going to claim that I have been like MacGuyver, and secondly, I've actually been pleasantly surprised at all of the things that we DO have here (fetal monitors, dopplers, suture removal kits, etc.). This is, though, still a mission hospital and sometimes you have to get creative.
I've become the official Pap smear doctor, and started doing them by light of a headlamp until the biomed department found me a lamp. Now I have a floor lamp that I bring over whenever it is needed. We sterilize and re-use almost everything, including surgical staplers. If we didn't use all the staples in the stapler, it gets auto-claved and re-used. Towels and some surgical drapes get the same treatment.
My favorite story so far is of our surgeon (who is probably too humble to ever tell anyone this), who is a jack-of-all-trades and master of everything. He did a big orthopedic surgery last week. While some orthopedic surgeons would simply refuse to operate if they did not have the right tools or equipment, our surgeon takes advantage of the 'bodega' (workshop) that is immediately adjacent to the hospital. If he wants a tool that we don't have here, he makes it. Last week, he welded a rod, then sterilized it before nailing it into someone's leg. Full service.
I've become the official Pap smear doctor, and started doing them by light of a headlamp until the biomed department found me a lamp. Now I have a floor lamp that I bring over whenever it is needed. We sterilize and re-use almost everything, including surgical staplers. If we didn't use all the staples in the stapler, it gets auto-claved and re-used. Towels and some surgical drapes get the same treatment.
My favorite story so far is of our surgeon (who is probably too humble to ever tell anyone this), who is a jack-of-all-trades and master of everything. He did a big orthopedic surgery last week. While some orthopedic surgeons would simply refuse to operate if they did not have the right tools or equipment, our surgeon takes advantage of the 'bodega' (workshop) that is immediately adjacent to the hospital. If he wants a tool that we don't have here, he makes it. Last week, he welded a rod, then sterilized it before nailing it into someone's leg. Full service.
