Our second week in Bima surely went fast. This week we got our first chance to visit the patient's wards since we have the ward rotation first. Each of us followed up one patient, from the day the patient got in the ward till they went home.
This week, we were in the internal medicine ward. The first time we got into the ward, we were shocked. The ward was far from decent. There wasn't any air conditioner nor electric fan, so the air was so frowsty. The beds were old with mattresses as thin as a paper, no wonder the patients had difficulties sleeping.
Apparently hand gloves are luxury things in RSUD Bima. The nurses usually wash the used gloves and dry them under the sun so they could be used again. I wonder if some of the washed gloves were previously used to do rectal examination or catheter insertion.
Flies are also a big problem in the hospital, let me correct, in town. In the ward, hundreds of flies buzzed around the patients while we were examining them. Flies also hanged around the patients' food and the wards' toilets. Even the most sterile place such as operating theater has flies in it. They were literally everywhere. But I guess this is a common view in Bima, because nobody in the hospital seems to care enough to spray some insecticide.
Realizing the fact that RSUD Bima is the biggest hospital in town, I think the hospital is below the standard. Maybe it's because I am used to be in RSCM, where everything seem to be so clean, hygienic, and neat. But again, RSUD Bima is the only place where all these Bimanese could have healthcare service, and from their perspective it is the best they could get. Isn't it pathetic?
After visiting the ward, we went to the polyclinic. We were divided into 5 departments: general medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatric, and obgyn. We shifted each departments every 3 weeks. I got the general medicine rotation first. There were 2 general practitioner and 3 nurses in the department.
Since the first time I went to this department, I could feel the vibrant ambiance of it. The nurses were very kind and helpful. They helped me translating the patient's complaints since most of them can't speak Bahasa Indonesia clearly. When the service is almost over, the doctors and nurses gathered around and share some snacks. During the whole week, there's not a day that we skip the snack time. There's always someone who brings snacks and fruits to feed our gastronomical need. Moreover, chit-chatting while snacking with the nurses feels so heartwarming and somehow makes me feel like I'm home.
One day, one of the nurses brought a cake called Bingka Dolu or mud cake in English. It's a very sweet and delicate cake, made of flour, egg, coconut milk, and brown sugar. The cake is baked on cast pan so the cake is perfectly round in shape. The outer part which stick to the pan is usually a bit overcooked, creating a bitter-tasted crust. The first time I tried this cake, I fell for it.
As I come to think about it, this cake is just like the hospital I'm working in. My first impression to the hospital is as bitter as the crust of Bingka Dolu, it is indecent and it doesn't look inviting at all. But after the first bite when I "tasted" the warmth of the people in the hospital, which is as sweet as Bingka Dolu, I fell for it. The bitterness and sweetness in the hospital is just as perfect as Bingka Dolu. Just like my new addiction to Bingka Dolu, I think I can work happily in this hospital everyday.
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| Bingka Dolu, Bimanese Traditional Cake |
