A Day in the Life ... University Visits and Surprises

The Clinical Skills Labs were all prepared ready for a special visit from an important army colonel. The University is preparing to teach a new course in crisis management jointly with the armed services. The manikins within the Clinical Skills Labs may be used to teach trauma management and wound care. 

Thankfully we had been told about this visit 2 days before hand so we were able to ensure all the manikins were displayed in each of the clinic rooms of the labs. We'd had difficulties before when we've been told to prepare the labs just 10 minutes before a visit! 

The lights are on, but ....

Before the visit, we started the morning with further training in the use of electronic patient records. There is an initiative to introduce electronic patient records to all government hospitals and clinics in Jordan and we are receiving training to then train our medical students. The system is very impressive but we were a bit limited by password restrictions which needed fixing. Security is a very important issue for electronic patient records but it can be frustrating when you need access and don't have it! 

Parting words of exhortation

Whilst the company giving the training sorted out a solution for the passwords, one of the 3rd year medical students called to ask if I could see him. I went out of the lab and was surprised to see about 150 third year students in the hallway. I was even more surprised when they suddenly started clapping and cheering for me!! The student organiser gave me a bunch of flowers and gift as well as giving a little speech thanking me. So I gave a little speech thanking them and telling them not to forget what I've taught them and they'll be great doctors! The third year students are moving on to clinical rotations so I won't be teaching them again (and it may be my last year teaching anyway). 

It's nice to be appreciated

I was really touched that the gift was a beautiful watch, since I'd lost my watch a few months ago and the students had remembered me mentioning it. I was even more touched by the words in the card "we learnt from you the practical skills we need as doctors, but most importantly, through you we understood the heart of medicine. You graced us with such elegance of character that we not only appreciate, but also aspire to become."

After lots of photographs with the students, with me keeping a look out for the approach of the visitors to the lab, I went to meet the visitors and show them around. They were impressed with the facilities and enjoyed their tour. 

Days like this show me that all the hardwork and effort really is worth it and that through teaching the medical students and being a role model, the practise of patient-centered medicine will become a reality in Jordan.

Day in the Life of ... 3 Mother's Days

School Mother's Day (written by Isaiah) - Thursday 20th March

I wore a smart shirt and I made a special hat for Mother's Day party. - but I still had a black eye from falling off a window sill! All the mummies came and Mummy sat in the front row to watch me. I sang lots of songs with actions. Some were in English and some in Arabic. At the end Mummy had to come and dance with me. Then Mummy sat down again. Then I gave a present to Mummy which was a heart necklace that I had made. Then Mummy got a falafel sandwich and juice and marshmallows with chocolate. Then I played a bit with my friends. Then we left. The end.

Jordanian Mother's Day (written by Kira) - supposed to be Friday 21st March but we had it on Sunday 23rd March

We gave Mummy breakfast in bed. We went into the bedroom with a Happy Mother's Day song playing on Daddy's telephone in my pocket. We gave Mummy a croissant, some toast and orange juice.

Later we also gave Mummy some chocolates and flowers. Lillies are Mummy's favourite flowers so I went with Daddy and bought some for Mummy and the shop man also gave me a rose because roses are my favourite flowers.

 

We gave Mummy cards - she had one from Isaiah from school, one from Ethan from playgroup and one from me that I did at school.

We tried to give Mummy a relaxing day but Isaiah was a bit ill (with diarrhoea and vomiting bug) so Mummy had to clear up when he threw up after lunch!

British Mother's Day (written by Kate) - Sunday 30th March

After 2 lovely Mother's Day celebrations (Mother's Day seems a very big thing here in Jordan!), I was treated to another relaxing day on British Mother's Day when we went as a family to the local woods. We walked down to a beautiful spot and made a fire to cook a BBQ lunch. The children enjoyed hunting for sticks for the fire and it was a treat to toast marshmallows too. At this time of year, we have about 6 weeks of green countryside (a short spring!) before everything turns brown in the summer heat. So it was lovely to enjoy the green grass and wild flowers.

 

Day in the Life of ... Playgroup

Saturday morning came and we turned up early to my friend's house where we were restarting a Mums and Toddler group for children aged 0-5 years. There had been a Mums and Toddlers group meeting at a Centre but it wasn't possible to continue using the centre so the group hadn't met for 9 months. We weren't sure how many mums would come and whether it would seem strange for Jordanians to meet in a home or not whilst we continue to search for a new venue!

We also hadn't decided on a name for the group, so just called it Playgroup! We had considered names such as "cheeky monkeys" but it is considered rude to call your child an animal name here (even a cheeky monkey!)!

Toys were laid out and there was an activity table with playdough and colouring. We prepared a kids' healthy snack and a (not so healthy) mums' snack! Then waited for people to arrive. Usually good time keeping is not a strength in this country but one of the mums arrived early and everyone was there within 20 minutes of the start time. This was quite impressive, especially as local mums don't often use maps, preferring to telephone and be told directions to the house.

We welcomed 7 mums and 11 children which was plenty to fill the living room and dining area. After a time of free play for the children whilst the mums relaxed with a cup of tea and chatted, we had circle time - welcoming each child by name with a song, then singing other songs both in Arabic and English. The children loved doing the actions and joining in.

Then we all helped out with the craft of sticking tissue paper onto a heart shape for Valentine's Day. Here Valentine's Day is seen as a day to tell your friends and family how much you appreciate and love them, so it is very common for children to give parents and all their classmates cards, and parents to give their children cards. Kira had asked me to check our PO Box in the hope that she might have received some Valentine's cards from friends in the UK!

We finished our time together with the children playing under a parachute and then catching bubbles. It was great fun to see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves. Many of the mums are working full time and don't get to spend a lot of time having fun with their children. Playgroup is also a wonderful opportunity for mums to meet other mums and share their joys and challenges of parenting.

Princess 7th birthday party

I helped daddy to make the olive and cheese sticks, while mummy, Isaiah and Ethan were out at the supermarket buying the party food. Mummy had already made a cake the day before, which was a flower shape.

Then we put more decorations up in the living room and made sure all the party games and prizes were ready.

Poor timekeeping

The party started at 4 o'clock, but most people were late because Jordanians are not very good at coming on time. 10 of my friends came to my party and 8 of them were Jordanians. 2 of my friends could not come.

Princess Games

First, we made crowns and then we played 'Pin the crown on the princess.' Once everyone had arrived, we played pass the parcel, pass the magic wand, princess freeze and princess thrones. We also tried to play princess whispers (like Chinese whispers), but it was hard because one of my friends could not speak English and two of them couldn't speak Arabic.

After the games, mummy taught us all how to do a beautiful princess dance. In between all the games, we had our nails painted and choose some pretty tattoos to put on our arms.

Upside-down knife

Then we ate the party food and the cake. In Jordan, you cut the cake with the knife upside down, but I don't know why. After this, everyone went home. I got lots of nice presents, which I opened after everyone left, which is also normal in Jordan. My friends all told me that it was so much fun. They don't normally have fun games at Jordanian birthday parties.

Presentation at the Cancer Center

It was the day that I was due to give a presentation at the King Hussein Cancer Center. A few days before, I was worried that the presentation would be cancelled because of snow, but then it seemed OK, since the snow had mostly melted by the time the day came.

Resilient snow

Little did I know that there was still a lot of snow by the Cancer Center, and I arrived to find that the was quite a lot of snow still there. It was a bit slippy and slidy in our rear-wheel drive minibus, so I parked at the first space I saw and walked the rest of the way, trying not to get splashed by dirty slushy snow with my suit on as cars drove by.

5 minutes to set up

I arrived with half an hour to spare, and went to the room of the director of training. We chatted for a few minutes, and then went to the seminar room to set up. I thought I would have plenty of time to set up my presentation, but another seminar was going on, right up until I was due to speak. In the end I was transferring the presentation and clipping on my mic, just as everyone was coming in to see my presentation.

Speaking to 60 managers

I was expecting the CEO and 50 middle managers to come, but in the end it seemed like at least 60 or 70. My presentation was about 'Lean thinking in healthcare' using the same ideas and methods developed by Toyota, in order to reduce waste and increase value and quality.

Lack of response

My presentation went well, although there was very little response to the questions I asked to try and be a bit interactive. Jordanians tend to stand at the podium and lecture, and people are not used to getting involved in a seminar. When I asked them about their Key Performance Indicators (KPI's), there was silence, until the CEO nudged someone with his elbow, who then piped up with a couple of KPI's which they use. All attendees were given a feedback form to fill in about my seminar at the end, and I was taken to the canteen for lunch.

Lunch in the VIP zone

Whilst everyone else in the hospital ate the self-service canteen lunch, I was taken behind the barriers to the VIP zone, where I sat with a couple of the top managers and we were served a nice 3-course lunch.

Awaiting feedback

I am still waiting for feedback and a decision on whether or not they want the 'Lean thinking' programme. In the meantime, they have asked me to submit proposals for courses on 8 different topics, which is a good sign.

Jordan Snow Photos

Merry Christmas

A day in the life of Isaiah: The Car Museum

I was very excited about school, because today was the day that we were going on a school trip to the King Hussein Car Museum.

The safest boy on the bus

After I got dropped off at school, we did not have to wait long for the bus which was taking my class to the museum. We all got on the bus and we filled it, but I managed to sit next to my best friend, Yasmine. I was amazed that the bus had seatbelts, but I was the only one who put mine on!

When we got to the museum, we had to line up at the entrance and then follow our teacher around the museum. They split us into two groups and I was in the red group. There were so many amazing cars and they all used to belong to King Hussein. Lots of them were old Mercedes but I also saw some Rolls Royce’s. My favourite car was the big long white Mercedes with the hole in the roof so that the king could stand up and wave to everyone. There was also a bedouin tent in the middle of the museum and we all had a sit down on the bedouin cushions.

They also had lots of motorbikes, Porsches and Ferraris. King Hussein must have been very rich.

After walking around the museum we got back in the bus to go back to our school and I sat next to Yasmine again. When we got back to school it was almost time to go home.