Settling in

  Those are my dear host parents, Cathy and John, who are headed out today with a camper van to travel all around the North Island (and visit family).  I've only known them for 10 days, but I will miss them!  They have really welcomed me into their home.
  We would have dinner together and watch the news as well as a great (British) tv show called "Best of QI" (for "Quite Interesting")- a trivia show hosted by actor Stephen Fry with 4 comedians, and they discuss unusual trivia from history and make jokes.  It's been on for like 9 years!
  Had my first shift day seeing patients and such- it was good!
  Chief complaints: cellulitis, chest pain, distal radius fracture, ankle sprain, 1st metacarpal fracture, dental infection, knee injury (meniscal injury).
  Medical tidbit- clindamycin can only be prescribed with approval by an infectious disease doctor.  Surprising as this is an old antibiotic, but in a way I really do respect the Kiwis in how they are trying to decrease antibiotic resistance by limiting which antibiotics they prescribe.
  They also don't give narcotic pain medication at my clinic as an outpatient script (there may be very rare exceptions)- just paracetamol and ibuprofen.

  Next up on the agenda besides work- joining a tramping club!  (tramping in NZ=hiking).
  Hope to go out on a hiking trip this weekend with the group, staying at a free hut overnight-

cheers, Emily

Christchurch Weekdays

First few workdays:

Pictures above are of the bike track I take to work- it follows the train tracks.

First day: met folks at Pegasus- really nice.
  Had interview with Medical Council- went fine, but need to produce more (!) documentation.  They did expect me to bring my original M.D. diploma (despite its large size and being already mounted and framed).  Luckily a letter from the medical school dean will substitute.

Also needed to sign up for malpractice coverage, an IRD number (like the IRS), and get a New Zealand bank account.  When people are helping you, they say "right, time to get you sorted", or "we'll help get you sorted".  It sounds very comforting in an odd way- like they are going to help you organize your life.

It sounds like I should be able to see patients on my own starting next week.  In the meantime I am shadowing doctors, which has been helpful as I have a lot to learn about their system (how to refer, etc) and the EHR- they use MedTech, and which medications they use most commonly.

Examples: amoxicillin for pneumonia; maybe augmentin if COPD/other lung issues
  fluoxicillin for skin infections.

The medicine itself seems to be similar to what I practiced in Seattle, though this is more of an Urgent Care setting rather than primary care family medicine.

Post-work:

  I have a great community pool and gym just a 5-10 minute bike ride away, so I swam on Monday ($5).
  There is a great rock-climbing wall at the YMCA ($12), where I made some new friends on Tuesday, who invited me to the pub afterwards for trivia bowl!  it was a lot of fun.  I biked home around 9pm (and it was still light out).
  Today (Wednesday), after work went on a longer bike ride- following the bike path away from the city center.

Next two days at work I will be doing some MedTech training (the computer system), and shadowing doctors in the fracture clinic- there is a lot of orthopedics at this clinic.

EDF

Weekend and Akaroa

Over the weekend- Saturday ended up being very cold and rainy- I was not too ambitious, but did buy a ticket for the bus that goes around the city as a way to get more oriented.  It is called "The Orbiter" and costs $3.20 for a 2 hour transfer.

Sunday was a bit more exciting- I went on a day trip to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula.  This is a town about 1.5 hours from Christchurch that was originally a Maori settlement, and the French sent a large ship there to colonize the area (arriving in New Zealand in July 1840).  The British, who had officially made NZ part of the British Realm in June 1839, heard about the French being on their way to Akaroa, so they got a ship there 2 days before the French, and they raised a Union Jack flag.  The French did settle there, though, and the town likes to keep a French influence (with tasty croissants!).

This is a good place to take a boat ride to see Hector dolphins- the smallest dolphins in the world, and only found in NZ.  Unfortunately the weather was too windy- whitecaps out on the water, and all boat trips were cancelled for the day.

So instead I biked around and went on some short hikes.  The wind was so strong that it pushed me sideways at times.  I wouldn't mind coming back, and taking the Scenic Drive that follows a high ridge of the Banks Peninsula.

cheers, EDF

Agricultural fair:

  Set off on an exploratory bike ride- there is a great bicycle trail all the way to Hagley Park (a large central park).
  Continued on to the 150th Canterbury Agricultural fair.  On the way, there was another bicyclist who was getting confused at the same places as me, so we became friends and hung out at the fair together.
  Highlights- lots of baby animals, sheep-shearing contests (they were very fast!  a good sheep-shearer can shear 400 sheep in a day), horse races, and the naming of the "best animals" with awards given by Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.

Full set of pictures:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110664676456177862063/albums/5811278172851237601?authkey=CPLS2dmz597fzwE

Pearls:

-"give way" signs rather than "yield"
-helmets are required here
-biking is helping me feel more comfortable going along the left side of the road

EDF

Arrival at Christchurch- (late entry- arrival was Thursday 11/15/12)

Flight over- via San Francisco to Auckland to Christchurch did not feel as long as I expected.

  I have arrived safe and sound and with all my stuff (would you believe I wasn't charged anything for checking that enormous box, as their computers weren't working well at United).
  The flight San Francisco to Auckland actually went by very fast- I only watched one of the 70 movies you could choose from (the new Spiderman), and slept for 5 hours.  Air New Zealand also provided meals and free wine (which I did not have, as I wanted the best sleep I could get).

Customs: allowed smoked salmon and chocolates from Seattle.
  Did spray hiking boots despite my prior cleaning of them with a rag.

Upon arrival- KAS from Pegasus picked me up at the airport and gave me a bit of a driving tour before dropping me off at my new home.  The airport is not far from the city.
  My host family was out-and-about, but left me a note and key, so I got to get settled and explore.
  I set up my bicycle.
  There is a mall about a 10-minute walk away.
Notes on buying a cell phone: both vodaphone and telecom were in the mall, and have good coverage here.  You can buy a smart phone for $99, which includes $20 of credit; you can have a pay-as-you go plan for $20 a month with 500 texts and 50 minutes included, and some minimal data.

Exchange rate: 1 New Zealand dollar = 0.8090 American dollars

Pearls:
-phone tips as above
-you cross the international date line and the equator flying from the US to NZ
-there seems to be a lot of respect by the Kiwis that I have met so far for Peter Jackson and what he has done for New Zealand via the Lord of the Rings movies (even by people who don't particularly like Lord of the Rings).
  -Air New Zealand's safety videos have the actors dressed up as elves, hobbits, dwarves, etc!
  -I did watch all 3 films a few months ago when I had bronchitis, and it does give a great preview of New Zealand's landscape.  The Hobbit comes out next month, with the world premiere in Wellington (North Island).

-EDF