Our alarm went off at 5 am on Monday morning. It was hard to drag ourselves out of bed, but being that it was our first day at Repat (RGH), and we were relying on the bus system, we were able to convince ourselves. We were at the bus stop just after 7, and after stopping at the Marion Shopping Center and waiting for a second bus, we arrived a few blocks from Repat just before 8am.
Michael had brought us on a quick introductory tour of the Veteran’s Hospital the previous Friday, but it still felt as though we were approaching “Little Cuba” (Michael’s colorful descriptor) as we arrived. The Repat is an old military hospital, compiled of tiny little buildings all clumped together over the years. Over here is a sandy orange building with a rustic sign saying “Ward 17”, over there is an identical and equally archaic building with an equally bucolic sign reading “Wards 5-8”. Corrugated iron overhangs the narrow walkways between here and there, and as you wander around a bit you’ll stumble upon some lovely little gardens, rose bushes, pebble pathways, and lots of decks.
It is a sight to behold, and with green, gold, and white colored signs, and dusty orange bricks holding up the roof, it is easy to misjudge the place. It has an old-world, country-outback feel. Each time we go to theatre, we walk through the gardens between buildings, and all the in-patients get to have a “squiz” (Aussie slang for “a look around”) outside in the fresh air as they are brought around from their ward to the imaging building.
This Monday morning, we wound our way around the paths, trying to go from memory exactly how to get to the Imaging Building. After arriving, we got introduced to the staff and got a tour of all the different buildings where we might be working.
We heard more about the staff break room from Michael in our weeks leading up to this switch than I care to admit. The “espresso machine that makes fresh coffee, cappuccinos, and even froths milk” is legendary – and yes, I admit it’s been nice to get a quick cap in the mornings without shelling out a dollar! But they also have an x-ray room with a machine that it quite entirely “automated”. You simply select your patient, the exam is already programmed in, you press a button, and the machine will automatically set itself up for the position… angles and everything! While impressive, I am not too jazzed about this machine – not the best facilitator for learning.
It’s a different feel at Repat as well. It is a relatively small staff compared to Flinders, and you are working with the same people every day. I am quite fond of this idea after working with so many different shift groups for the past few months. It’s nice to have some uniformity! I must say that, for the most part, the staff are all quite delightful as well. And very welcoming to us newcomers!
We were happily thrown into the thick of it right away, and by the end of the week, I had seen some urology theatre work, some oblique spines (the first I’ve seen in the real world!) a barium swallow, AND my first barium enema! Woo-hoo! It’s still taking a bit of adjusting to the new machines (especially that darned automated one!) and for the better part of the week, I felt like a complete newbie all over again – not knowing how to work anything, being completely turned upside down, and having to constantly get assistance ): But… week 2 holds a lot of promise!
Michael had joked that he might not get us back at the end of our 4 weeks- reckoned he might get a call from us saying that we decided to just stick around for a while at Repat. Me? I reckon he might get a call from the staff saying they want us to stick around!
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