Tom's nearing the end of his 2nd week of practicing medicine in Rotorua, and I'd like to share a few of my observations before he weighs in. New Zealand's socialized health care system is alive and slow! Medical services are prioritized based on the urgency or seriousness of the sickness or injury. This sounds logical until you hear stories of patients who wait 13 months to be seen for a hernia or a growth on their neck - only to be told the system won't take care of them.
This is as close to a 9 to 5 job as Tom has had since becoming a doctor. So far he has only worked weekdays and has yet to be placed on the call rotation. Surgeons are called "Consultants," and Tom is called "Mr. Thilo" rather than Dr. Thilo to distinguish his higher level of training. Working under him are "Registrars" - doctors still in training which we call Residents in the US. He works among quite an international community of physicians, and frequently laments about the neglected care that has resulted from people waiting in line.
Since he's the expert, I've invited Mr. Thilo to be a future guest Blogger.
Waiting for 13 months sure puts waiting for health care into perspective when people complain about waiting for 24 hours in the waiting room at The Ben Taub (Houston's Harris County Hospital).
ReplyDeleteWith Dad only working 9 to 5, it sounds like you will be seeing a lot of each other! I would suggest board games, but it sounds like there are too many outdoor adventures to be had to preoccupy yourself with Scrabble or Boggle.