Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 16: Last Day in Northern Ireland

We began our last day in Northern Ireland when we left at 9:45am. It didn’t seem like it would be too busy of a day, but you never know. Luckily, I was able to pack almost all my stuff last night. For some reason, it seems like I have less stuff leaving than I had coming here.

The first stop of the day was at the Saint Patrick’s Centre to meet with Margaret Richie who is a Member of Parliament (MP) for the SDLP. Margaret told us a little bit about what the SDLP stands for, which includes the reconciliation efforts that the Saint Patrick Centre is interested in. She is a very nice woman and had some really interesting things to say. I really enjoyed meeting Margaret and hearing her perspective.

(Viking Ship ready for us in the water)

After our meeting with Margaret Richie, we headed to Strangford Loch to set sea in the Viking ship. We had to row the Viking ship, which was kind of difficult, but I enjoyed it. Not everyone could row because they didn’t know how and this wasn’t the easiest place to learn. I was pretty good because I’ve rowed boats before at my cabin in northern Wisconsin, so it wasn’t a problem for me. We didn’t stay out too long, but when we got back, we had a bit of a problem because it was high tide and the shore that we had used to get to the boat was now covered in water. Even the pier was surrounded in water. We got to the pier and all got off and then the men that owned the ship gave us piggyback rides to what was left of the shore. It was hilarious, especially when even Tim got a piggyback ride. Then half of the group left to go cliff jumping. I chose not to go because it was extra money, meant I wouldn’t eat lunch, it was raining, and it would involve jumping into the freezing sea. Instead, the group that stayed back went and had a barbeque in a nearby shack. It was quite interesting because it was pretty rundown and there wasn’t much space, plus it was raining, but we made it work.

(Tim and me at the farewell gathering)

Following our Viking ship excursion and barbeque, we headed back to the Saint Patrick Centre for the others to return. When they returned, we had a farewell gathering. Several of the people we had seen throughout the two weeks were there. We were each given certificates and were given a chance to say a few words about the experience. It was great that we started at the Centre with a barbeque and ended at the Centre. Then we headed home and had our last dinner in Northern Ireland, which was Fish and Chips. Then we finished packing and now it’s about time for bed because we have to leave the cottages at 7:45am tomorrow for Belfast International.

Goodnight for the last time from Northern Ireland!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Day 15: Castle Ward, Inch of Abbey, and Belfast

We didn’t have to leave our cottages until 10:45am today, so we got the chance to sleep in. Personally, this was great because I needed to catch up on some sleep. We had a little bit more relaxed day in general. By relaxed, I mean that we still went several places, but we weren’t as rushed and it didn’t seem like we were on the go as much.

Our first stop for the day was Castle Ward. This is a castle that was owned by the Ward family. The unique thing about this castle is that the front and back of the exterior and interior have different themes. The front of the house is more traditional while the back of the house was more modern for the time. This was because Mr. Ward wanted a traditional home while Mrs. Ward was into the modern theme. It’s quite interesting to see the differing themes. While at the castle, we had a guided tour and we were able to learn about each of the rooms. It was really nice to see each of the rooms setup as if we were in the house during that time period. We also got to go outside and see the view of the sea and the grounds of the castle.


(Front and Back of Castle Ward)

After our stop at Castle Ward, we stopped at the Inch of Abbey. This was the site of an old church. There was actually a guide dressed as a monk that was able to tell a little history about the church and show us different portions. It was difficult to differentiate the different parts of the church because it has fallen apart so much. The view at Inch of Abbey was gorgeous because it looked on at the sea, so I can only imagine how it would look had the church been intact.


(Inch of Abbey)

Then we headed to the Saint Patrick Centre for a bite to eat and then we left for Belfast. We took a quick tour of the city again, but this time it was mainly to see the murals that are around the city. Most of the murals are in regards to the troubles and therefore relate to politics and religion. Other murals are about social issues. It was very interesting to see how Belfast is divided in an effort to keep Catholics and Protestants separate which was to try to discourage outbreaks of fighting. While in Belfast we also spent a little time shopping, but we didn’t have much time, so I didn’t get much of anything.

(Murals in Belfast)

Our last stop for the night was at a pub in Downpatrick called Denvir’s. We went there to have dinner and watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. Before we had left the Saint Patrick Centre after lunch, we had each drawn two teams for a tournament amongst ourselves. Ironically, I drew England and Honduras. Technically, I was supposed to be cheering for England, but how could I? It was a lot of fun at the pub because most of the Irish were cheering for the US because they don’t like England. Our group was pretty spirited throughout the whole thing because we sang the national anthem quite loud at the beginning and chanted “USA… USA… USA…” from time to time. The other people in the pub really thought we were funny. Most of us didn’t stay the whole time because we wanted to get home and start packing a bit, so here I sit. I suppose now that this blog is written I will go start packing. By the way, I will have internet for our last day because we got passwords for the internet again!

Goodnight!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Day 14: Final Day at Downe Hospital and Bracken

Today was my last day at Downe Hospital and this time I was placed in the Maternity ward. I was placed with the receptionist named Sandra. The Downe Hospital only has midwives on staff, so they only handle births that will not present complications. If there is any doubt with a pregnancy, then the expecting mom is sent to Lagan Valley or the Ulster Hospital to deliver. The Maternity ward of the hospital is quite unique from other parts of the hospital because it does not use the waiting list like other areas. Also, I found it interesting that the expecting moms are given their medical notes and they are supposed to keep them with them at all times in case something were to happen. They also are responsible for bringing them to the hospital.


(Finally a picture of the Downe Hospital)

When I arrived, Sandra informed me that unfortunately, Fridays tend to be slow and there were only four patients scheduled all day. Soon after she said this, two patients called to cancel their appointments. While Sandra felt bad that I wouldn’t get to see much, she still was able to show me how to do a lot of different tasks, and I really enjoyed my time there. Sandra taught me how to schedule appointments, which is different from other parts of the hospital. We had to send a letter and a bunch of educational materials out to patients, so we also did that. Additionally, she walked me through each of the tasks she would do each day had there been more patients being seen. I was also given a tour of the birthing suits by one of the midwives and even sat in on one of the appointments where a patient needed blood work done because of a low iron count.

After leaving the hospital, I headed home for a bit and then we were picked up to head to the Saint Patrick Centre to hear one of the bands that the Ulster-Scots is sending to Milwaukee Irish Fest. The band was called Bracken and was mostly made of members in their teens. They had only been practicing for a month, but they were great. One of the girls in the group is only 15 and she is the World Champion for Irish Dancing. Let me tell you, she can dance! I’m really looking forward to seeing Bracken at Milwaukee Irish Fest this year!


(Bracken playing us a private concert)

Shortly after hearing the band’s private concert, we headed to a pub in Downpatrick and had a pint. We mainly just hung out with Tim and talked for a while. It was nice to just chat and not be on the go somewhere. We got back a little while ago, so I’ve been writing my blog and by now, I’m exhausted. The internet passwords we have expire tomorrow, so this might be my last blog post before returning to the US if we can’t get new passwords. We’ll see what happens though.

Goodnight!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 13: Stormont Castle and Dublin

The day began at 9am when the bus picked us up to head to Stormont Castle. We were headed there for a 10:30am meeting with the Deputy First Minister and First Minister. When we arrived at Stormont Castle, we were a few minutes early, so we got a tour of part of the castle. Then, the Deputy First Minister and First Minister arrived and we sat at the executive table with them and spoke a little bit about the history of Northern Ireland and then we each spoke about our placements.

(Entrance to Stormont Castle)

After our meeting with the Deputy First Minister and First Minister, we headed to Dublin. We were supposed to meet with the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland when we arrived. We got to the U.S. Embassy and found out that the ambassador was busy and wouldn’t be able to speak with us. Instead, we spoke with one of the political officers named Bryan. Bryan spoke a little bit about what the officers do, how to become one, and how U.S. Embassies function around the world. Even though we were looking forward to meeting the U.S. Ambassador, it was still nice to meet with Bryan because what he said was very interesting.

After our visit to the U.S. Embassy, we got to do a little shopping in Dublin. First, since we hadn’t eaten lunch, we stopped at a place called Porterhouse and had burgers, chips (French fries), and a pint. The burgers were huge and they were delicious. Then we went and hit the streets for a short shopping excursion. I didn’t get much, but I got a few things for myself and a few gifts for others. It’s really expensive in Dublin, and there were definitely things that I would have liked to buy, but I couldn’t justify spending so much money.

On the way home from Dublin, our bus driver drove through the Mourne Mountains. The views were great and I took a few pictures even though I was behind the window in the bus. It’s funny because once you’re in the mountains, they don’t seem like they’d be that difficult to climb. We were also pretty surprised to see the number of people that have houses in the mountains. I don’t blame them though because the view is gorgeous.

(View of the Mourne Mountains from the bus)

Our day ended with a talk with one of the members of the Sin Feinn party. We met Eamon who told us a little bit about the history of the Sin Feinn party. This party believes in uniting the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland. It was interesting to hear his perspective. Eamon also told us his story about how he had been in jail for 9 years. He told us about the terrible conditions in the jail. At times he told a few more details than we wanted to hear, but it was still interesting. Well, that concludes of busy day at Stormont Castle and in Dublin.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Day 12: Dublin

We begin our day a little early by leaving at 8am to head to Dublin. Most of us slept on the way there to make up for lost sleep from getting up early. When we arrived, we met a man named Finton. Finton is from Dublin, but teaches Gaelic in the US in Minnesota. Annie and Ryan had actually taken a few of his Gaelic classes. Finton gave us a short tour of the city and then we went to the visitor’s station. Upon arriving there, we got tickets for one of the “Hop on, hop off Dublin Tour Buses.”

(Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin)

The first place we hopped off was at the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick. This claims to be the burial location for Saint Patrick, but we know that, that is not true and it’s really in Downpatrick. While there, we took a look around at the different stained glass windows and statues. We also visited the gift shop and I got a small gift for someone. I didn’t have any Euros with me yet, but they actually took US Dollars. Then one of the volunteer tour guides approached us and asked if we’d like a tour of the parts that are closed off to the public and only available for small groups. We said that we would love to, so we toured where some of the knights and choir sat. When the tour guide asked us why we were there, we explained and he even acknowledged that Downpatrick was the location of the real burial of Saint Patrick.

(Inside the Kilmanham jail, showing how a prisoner could be watched at all times)

After the cathedral, we hopped back on the bus and headed to see the Kilmanham Jail. We went on a tour of the jail and learned a little bit about the politics that resulted in several of the imprisonments and death sentences. We also learned that the last prisoner to be released from the jail went on to be the President of the Republic of Ireland. It was very interesting to see the old cells and how the jail had been built to make it feel like the prisoners were being watched at all times.

Following our tour of the jail, we hopped back on the bus and finished our bus tour of Dublin. We had a few spare minutes before our 4pm meeting, so we stopped and did a quick tour of Trinity College. Finton had graduated from there, so he was able to share a few things about each of the buildings. Then it was about 4pm and we headed to the Irish Parliament House to meet with the Minister of Social Development. We spoke with the Minister for a little while and then were given a tour of the Parliament House and were able to see the two chambers.


(One of the buildings at Trinity College)

After our tour of the Irish Parliament House, we headed back to the bus, but first we stopped to get a quick bite to eat. We drove back to Dundrum and changed into different clothes since we had been in our khakis and polos and then we headed to laughter therapy. We met a retired psychologist named Stan, and he gave us Indian food and spoke a little about the therapy that he provides. Then we played a few instruments and then did our laughter therapy, which basically consisted of lying on the floor and just laughing. It sounds kind of bizarre, and it was a little, but it was mainly for relaxation. Well, that’s all for today, until next time!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Day 11: Downe Hospital and Band Practice

Today I had to arrive at the hospital a little early because I was going to a meeting with some of the administrators. When I got to the hospital at 8:45am, I met Valerie, who is the Secretarial Manager. We then took a taxi to Lagan Valley Hospital, which is about a 45-minute taxi ride. Upon arrival, we met up with Karen, who is the person I met the first day. We also met up with a few other managers from the Lagan Valley hospital, and I got to meet Norma, who is the person who runs both Downe and Lagan Valley Hospitals.

The meeting was basically a time to meet with the boss, Norma and go over any issues that are occurring at the hospital. There didn’t seem to be many issues at all. Honestly, I spent most of the time just listening and thinking to myself that this could have been done over the phone. I think it would have been a better use of time and it would have saved money. Maybe there is a reason that it is held in person, but it seemed quite far to drive. It was nice to be included though, because it was a good way to break up my day.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hospital and I went to sit with the Ward Clerk in Ward 2 named Kris. When I arrived, Kris had just gone on his lunch break, so I did the same. After lunch, we ran a few errands throughout the hospital. We returned to the desk to find the nurses all meeting, so Kris showed me the other office and had me prepare admission packets. I did that for about an hour and then headed back to the desk. There I admitted and discharged a few patients, which also didn’t take long. Other than that, I didn’t do much. Kris was asking me a lot of questions about the U.S. Otherwise, he told me to go on the internet, so I went on CNN.com and we talked about the oil spill and a few other things. Because there wasn’t much to do in the ward, I headed home around 4pm, but had to wait for the 5pm bus. While waiting, I headed to Subway and got their sub of the day, which was a meatball sub.

We arrived home and relaxed for about an hour and then we went to see a band through the Ulster-Scots. It was a flute band and there were drums too. It was pretty cool to hear and see them practice. We even got to hear a few songs that we recognized. Tomorrow will be a busy day because we’re headed to Dublin, so it’s time for bed.

(One of the drums the band plays)

Goodnight!

P.S. Happy 21st Birthday Katy! (For those who don’t know, she’s my best friend!)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Day 10: Downe Hospital

The final countdown has begun for days I will be at Downe Hospital. After today, we will only be going to our placements for two more days because we will be headed to Belfast and Dublin two of the other days. This week at the hospital will be a little different because each day I will be in a different location. Today, I was stationed in Ward 3. Wards are where the patient rooms are. There are three main medical wards, and there are also wards for cardiac patients and day surgery patients. Each ward was set up to be divided into women, men, and elderly patients, but that is no longer the case. Ward 3 was supposed to be for women, so all the bay rooms (which are rooms with 4 beds in them) are only for women, but the individual rooms are for women or men.

When I got there, I met Alison who was the Ward Clerk for the ward and was the person I would be working with for the day. Immediately when I arrived Alison warned me that the ward may be a bit different today. On Friday morning, the hospital had found out that fifteen beds in one of the wards were going to be closed off. This was only days after hearing that twenty-five beds would be closed off in the mental health division. I should also mention that one of the wards in the hospital never actually opened and is just a bunch of empty rooms. Alison then told me that they had just found out this morning that they were going to close the entirety of Ward 3. This means that all those staff members are either going to be transferred or out of a job. She then went on to explain that Ward 3 was the only ward that consistently met or exceeded the standards for safety set by the government. The other wards didn’t meet these standards as consistently because of internal coding errors. I asked why they would close the best functioning ward and was told that it was simply because of numbers. Ward 3 is the smallest ward and it has a total of fifteen beds. Since fifteen was the magic number, it made sense to close an entire ward rather than portions of other wards. There will be negative implications for these cuts because this will likely cause the waiting list period to grow past the nine weeks where it currently stands.

Although there was bad news in Ward 3, I was still learned a few things when in the ward. The Ward Clerk is the person who works at the desk that is by the patient rooms. He/She is responsible for preparing charts for the doctors and making sure everything is there, such as enough papers to take notes on. I also got to learn how to admit and discharge patient’s from the hospital. This was very interesting because there are a lot of codes that go into discharging. Patients admitted under certain codes must be discharged in a certain number of hours. If they fail to be discharged in that time period, there need to be other codes explaining the delayed discharge. If the codes don’t correspond, then the ward manager will get a phone call and need to explain what happened. It seemed like a pretty strict system.

The rest of the day was pretty quite. I spent most of the day just sitting at the ward desk. Alison said that usually the ward is busy, but she guessed that it wasn’t busy because of the bad news. They were already admitting patients to other wards instead of Ward 3. Also, Alison usually does a lot of work in advance, such as preparing admission packets, printing stickers, etc. She didn’t need to do this anymore because she should have enough until the ward closes at the end of June. Since I spent a lot of time sitting, I decided to watch the nurses and doctors. I found out that a doctor only goes to school here for 5 years. They start at the age of 18 and are a doctor by the age of 23. Nurses only go to school from 18 to 21. I must have gone to the wrong country for college!

Because of the lack of activity, I got to go home a bit early and catch the 5:00pm bus with Kaitie and Megan. Then I just relaxed and wrote this blog. We don’t have any plans tonight with Tim, so I’m guessing it will be a pretty relaxed night. I’m hoping to go to bed a little earlier because I was quite tired when I woke up, even though I got a little more sleep.

Well, until later, farewell!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Day 9: Saint Patrick and Titanic

We didn’t have to leave the cottages until 11:15am today, so I got a bit of a chance to sleep in. I got up around 9am and then decided to do some laundry. Well, laundry didn’t go so well because it took much longer than 2 hours, so I had to leave it in the washer and dryer until we got home later today.

The first thing we did after leaving our Dundrum cottages was stop at the Saint Patrick Centre. We spent about an hour and a half there and we went through the Saint Patrick exhibit. The exhibit explains about Saint Patrick’s life. It talks about him being captured into slavery and the events that followed afterwards. The exhibit was also accompanied by an IMAX movie, which flew all over Northern Ireland. After the exhibit, we stopped at Subway for lunch because it is right across the street from the Centre. I got the 6-inch sub of the day, which was spicy Italian for only £1.99. After a quick lunch, we headed to Saint Patrick Cathedral to see Patrick’s gravesite. We then headed to Saul’s Church, which has a stained glass window depicting Patrick. The last part of our Saint Patrick tour was driving by the largest statute of Patrick.

(Saint Patrick's Grave)

Following our Saint Patrick tour, we headed to Belfast for the Titanic festival. Before stopping at the festival, we visited the dry dock where Titanic was built. The dry dock was huge and it was crazy to think that the giant ship was built there. What was even more mindboggling was the fact that the ship was larger than the dock because the dry dock was only the size of the Titanic’s more narrow base. I cannot imagine the size of the ship had we seen it actually in the dock. We also got to see the Caroline, which was a warship that is in the water right by the dry dock.

(Me by the dry dock where Titanic was built)

Then we headed to the Titanic festival. Basically, this was just a festival dedicated to boats and it had a lot of food and jewelry venders. We went on a boat that looked similar to a pirate’s ship from Pirates of the Caribbean. There were a few other ships, but we didn’t actually go on those ones. Then we walked around by the vendors. I got an ice cream cone, but didn’t get anything else because most of the vendors didn’t seem unique to Ireland. I kind of felt as if I was at Summerfest because several of the vendors were similar to those I would see in Milwaukee.

(Ship that we got to go on at the Titanic Festival)

After Titanic festival, we took a short bus tour of the city of Belfast. We were originally going to stop and walk around, but we didn’t have much time. We drove by the museum, BBC headquarters, and Queens University just to name a few. We also stopped at Belfast City Hall to take a few pictures. The city hall there is very gorgeous and it’s located in the heart of the city near a number of other buildings.

(Belfast City Hall)

The rest of the night was ours to relax. Mainly, I spent the time finishing my laundry, making some pasta for dinner, and taking a shower. Now, I think I’ll catch up on some email and just relax.

Until tomorrow, goodnight!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Day 8: Carrick-a-Rede and Giant's Causeway


Today was one of those days that are difficult to describe in words. It was even one of those days where pictures simply do not justify the beauty of what you see. The pictures are gorgeous, and I have more than 160 pictures from today alone to prove it, not to mention a dead camera battery. It was one of those days where you wish your eyes had been camera lenses and could capture everything you see into a still picture.

(Group in front of Carrickfergus Castle)

The day started at 9:30am when we left on a bus for what we thought was Downpatrick. We thought we were going to the Saint Patrick Centre for a little while and then headed to Belfast. Turns out the plans had changed because of the gorgeous weather, so we were headed to Carrick-a-Rede and Giant’s Causeway. Both places offer landscapes that remind me of backgrounds for a desktop computer. They’re just that gorgeous. Both Carrick-a-Rede (which means rock in the road in Gaelic) and Giant’s Causeway are at the coast at the very north of Northern Ireland. It’s basically one of the farthest points north. It took several hours to get there because we took the coastway, which is a road that runs the entire length of the coast by the Irish Sea. We were even able to see the coast of Scotland through the mist. Usually the group falls asleep while in the van, but almost all of us stayed awake for the whole trip up because of the gorgeous views. On the way, we stopped at Carrickfergus Castle to take a few pictures. We also stopped to walk by the sea on the beach and for lunch and ice cream when we were about halfway to Carrick-a-Rede. The ice cream shop we stopped at was called Maud’s and they have very interesting ice cream flavors. I couldn’t decide, so I had one scoop of honeycomb ice cream and another scoop of Nutella ice cream. Both were quite delicious, and they should be available in the US if you ask me.

(Beach and the Irish Sea on the way to the north coast)

Upon arriving at Carrick-a-Rede, we truly saw how beautiful it was. The entire walk is a little over a kilometer. The walk is mostly gravel but there are few sets of steep stairs that are made of rocks. We stopped several times while walking the kilometer to take pictures. Near the end, we had to cross a rope bridge. I was very excited to cross it, but it’s a bit scarier when you’re actually on it. It was definitely worth it though. I did make the mistake of pausing in the middle to look down and take a few pictures. The rope bridge led to Carrick Island where you could walk around and take pictures. It definitely is hard to explain the beauty, but I can say that a trip to Northern Ireland would not be complete without seeing Carrick-a-Rede.

(Carrick-a-Rede view)

After Carrick-a-Rede, we headed to Giant’s Causeway. This was less than a ten-minute drive away from Carrick-a-Rede. We had to walk down a hill and path to get to the rocks. Once we got there, it was absolutely amazing. I’m not sure how all the rocks got there, but it is one of the coolest looking places I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, this is where my camera died, but luckily, I’ll be able to get pictures from everyone else. Also, this is a view like Carrick-a-Rede that is difficult to explain, but gorgeous to see.

(View of Giant's Causeway)

Following our journey at the north coast, we headed back. This time we took the motorway since it was faster and we had already seen the view. Upon arrival in Dundrum we decided to go have dinner in Newcastle, the neighboring town. We went to a place and got pizza. I had Primavera pizza, which was very good, and I’m sure I’ll appreciate the leftovers. After dinner, we decided to stick around for a pint. I had Magner’s Pear. Because we were tired from such a long day, we headed home afterwards and now it’s time for bed.

Goodnight!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Day 7: Downe Hospital and the Murder Mystery

During my fourth day at my placement at Downe Hospital, I was able to work in both Outpatient and Main reception. Believe it or not, Outpatient reception is much more busy than Main reception. I never would have guessed this to be the case. The duties of Main Reception include directing patients to where they need to go and assembling charts. Since I don’t know the hospital that well, I didn’t do much of directing patients where to go. Instead, I helped with assembling the charts. Depending on what kind of appointment the patient has determines how the chart is to be assembled. Certain types of appointments require different notes. Also, it’s very important when assembling these charts to make sure that each referral letter is in the front of the chart. If the letter is not there, the doctor will have a very difficult time deciphering why the doctor felt the need to refer the patient to the hospital.

While I was at Outpatient Reception, I did most of the duties that I do every day. Fridays aren’t very busy at the hospital, so that was pretty nice. I’ve been getting pretty good at some of my duties, so there are times that Emma just leaves the desk to get things without making sure someone else is there to cover. It’s nice to think that before Tuesday, I had never used their system or anything and now I understand it enough to be left alone for a few minutes. Because it was a quiet day, we got to head home early, so Emma gave me a ride to the Saint Patrick Centre around 4:15pm.

Since I had some extra time at the Saint Patrick Centre, I decided to spend a little time exploring Downpatrick. I was finally able to buy some postcards and I found my Claddagh ring to buy! I was very happy to have the extra time to relax and see what Downpatrick has to offer. Then, I headed back to the Saint Patrick Centre to meet up with Annie, Andrea, and Kaitie because we needed to head up to the Down Museum, which was right behind the Saint Patrick Centre. The reason we were headed up to the museum is because they were putting on a Murder Mystery play. The museum is located at an old jail, so it worked quite well for the play. Part of the play was the audience traveling amongst buildings to investigate. It wasn’t like any play I have ever been to before. We even were able to have sandwiches while discussing clues within groups to solve the mystery. Our director, Tim Campbell, was actually a part of the play, so we were convinced that his character was the murderer, but it turns out we had been wrong.

After a long day, we headed back to Dundrum and most of us went to bed right away. It looks like it will be a fun and packed weekend ahead of us. I can’t believe it’s been a week since we arrived. Well, until next time.

Goodnight!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Day 6: Downe Hospital and Dancing

My third day at Downe Hospital was just as great as all the other days! I didn’t get to do any new duties in Outpatient Reception, but I’m getting better at the tasks. It’s funny how quickly I’ve picked up on their system, but I know I wouldn’t have any idea what I was doing if I didn’t have a little healthcare experience. There was one thing that I had the opportunity to experience that was different from the other days. Today, I was able to go upstairs and speak with Joanne who handles the legal payments.

Anything that involves a solicitor (like a lawyer in the US) goes to Joanne. Joanne is responsible to for looking into the computer to confirm that the patient was actually seen. Then she mails the patient’s medical notes to the solicitor after receiving £13.59 for making copies. A solicitor sends a letter because there was a car accident, injury caused by another party, etc. I asked Joanne why a patient would file a claim with a solicitor since healthcare is free (it’s not really free because it’s deducted from wages, but the patient would have paid the taxes regardless of an accident). Apparently, people file claims because they are rewarded money for their injuries. In the US, we file claims to cover things like medical bills. Since there are no medical bills, the patient get money in their pocket. Sometimes an injury as simple as whiplash could result in an award of £2000-£3000. I thought this was outrageous.

Additionally, I got to learn about the hospital’s private pay patients. I didn’t realize it, but some patients choose to purchase health insurance so they can bypass the waiting list. I found this quite interesting and didn’t realize that it was an option. All the patients need to do to schedule an appointment is mail in a copy of their insurance coverage, fill out a form, and then the appointment is scheduled. When the hospital has a private pay patient, the patient is charged for the room, transport, and service provided. This is how the US bills for things. The thing I found most interesting is the reimbursement. In the US, a patient has an operation or goes to the doctor and then the doctor or hospital bills the insurance company. It is the job of the healthcare institution to make sure the insurance pays the bill. If the insurance does not pay the bill, the healthcare institution may spend months arguing with the insurance company before payment is received. Sometimes, insurance companies simply do not pay the bill. When this is the case, either the service is written off or the patient is billed. In the UK, the patient is billed for the entire procedure. It is then the job of the patient to submit the claim to the insurance. I asked Joanne about this because I thought that patients wouldn’t pay their bills because several patients in the US don’t pay their bills even after the claim has gone to insurance. Joanne said that is it never a problem and they always are paid promptly. I attribute this to the fact that those purchasing private pay insurance can obviously afford the coverage and therefore they can afford to foot the bill until the insurance company reimburses them. I really like how they do it in the UK, but I doubt it would work in the US since we have problems getting bills paid as it is.

Other than that, it was just a busy day at the hospital because one of the orthopaedic doctors was at the outpatient clinic portion of the hospital. Seems like home because there are always people breaking bones. Tomorrow is supposed to be a slower day because only 4 doctors will be working in the outpatient portion.

After work at the hospital, I headed home to relax a bit and start writing this blog early. Megan has arrived, but she was sleeping because she had a flight just like ours, which was overnight. Then around 8pm, we had an Irish dancing lesson. It wasn’t the traditional Irish dancing. Instead, there were just a few dances. Some of the components were similar to the waltz and it reminded me of dancing in elementary school and high school. It was pretty funny because we weren’t very talented, but we had fun with it. Afterwards, we talked with Tim for a while and then just hung out.

Well, that’s all for now. Eventually I’m going to take some pictures of the hospital to post on the blog. No pictures tonight since we were dancing and it’s kind of difficult to take pictures of that.

Goodnight!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Day 5: Downe Hospital and the Lambeg Drum


Today was my second day at my placement at the Downe Hospital. I would say that it was quite similar to yesterday in terms of what I did, but I did learn a few more things about the hospital and quite a few things about how the Irish do other things. All of my day was spent in reception with Emma and another girl named Fiona. Fiona is 24 and she thought that Emma is 26, so it was a lot of fun because we all get along quite well. It’s quite different to work with people in a healthcare setting that are my own age. I do work with a few people at OAW who are my age, but that’s only until recently, and the majority are all older than me.

Emma told me that today was supposed to be a busy day at the hospital. Honestly, I didn’t think it was that busy, but maybe that was because yesterday felt crazy since I was new and we had an extra person today. My duties while there today included scheduling appointments, sorting charts, recording who attended appointments, teaching people how to use the self check-in stations, directing patients to the waiting room closest to their room, and a number of other little tasks. I’ve really enjoyed getting to see how a department runs that I’m not familiar with in the US. It’s also nice to work with a computer system that is not the same as the one I use at OAW. I’m also very glad that I got to see the self check-in stations. Patients seem reluctant to use them, and they don’t always work, but they seem like a great idea. It got me thinking and I wonder if we could have a self check-in system in clinics in the US. It would probably function similarly to an ATM. My vision would be to have the patient enter their date of birth (as they do at the Downe Hospital), then they would be prompted to insert an insurance card (similar to inserting an ATM card), and it would be scanned. Then the patient would be prompted to pay a co-pay. Ideally, patients would pay with a credit or debit card and swipe right at the machine, but other options could be worked out too. The insurance and payment details would be the tricky parts since the station I saw only required the check-in process since they do not need insurance cards or co-pays in the UK.

Other things that I learned while at the hospital are regarding things like waiting periods. As I mentioned previously, patients must be referred by their GP (general physician) and then they can be seen at the hospital. Depending on the urgency, patients are put on a waiting list. Right now, the outpatient waiting list is 9 weeks long. Once a patient has had their initial visit for the issue they were referred for, the patient may come back for review appointments. Review appointments that need to be scheduled in 6 weeks or less are scheduled right away while appointments that are in more than 6 weeks are added to the waiting list and a letter is mailed to the patient with the appointment time closer to the week that the appointment is to be held. What I found most interesting is that the patient isn’t really involved as much in scheduling the appointment. There is no going back and forth to find a time that works best for the patient. Instead, the appointment is just scheduled for them and they can call if it doesn’t work out for some reason or another.

In addition to learning about the hospital, I also got the chance to talk to Fiona and Emma about other things in Northern Ireland like school, driving, and other words they use that aren’t used in the US. School is very interesting here. All students wear uniforms to school, which is quite unique when comparing to the US. First, students go to play school, then primary school, then grammar or secondary school, and then college. Play school begins as early as the age of 2 years and 8 months. The first year is optional, but the second year of play school is required. Then primary school begins and they go from P1-P7. After primary school, students can sit a test and apply for grammar school or they can just apply to secondary school. Grammar school is viewed as the option that prepares students more. Levels for grammar and secondary school are the same and go from 1-5 and then lower and upper 6. After secondary school, students usually go on to a technical college. After grammar school, students usually go on to a university. In terms of driving, people must wait until they are 17 to get their license. Driving is similar to the US because there is a multiple-choice test, driving lessons, and behind-the-wheel test that is all required before getting a license. In addition, another thing I learned is that they use miles per hour in Northern Ireland and kilometers per hour in the Republic of Ireland. Lastly, I had quite a discussion about words in Northern Ireland vs. words in the US. Here, potpie is just pie. At the canteen today, I gave the woman quite a laugh when I asked if a dish was like potpie because she had no idea what I was talking about. Therefore, pie here is referred to as a tart. A custodian is a domestic. The bathroom is the loo or the toilet. The hallways in hospitals are corridors. The mail is the post. Everything is wee. For example, a wee text, a wee call, a wee seat, a wee girl, etc. It’s even “Mary Had a Wee Lamb!” Also, everything is lovely and when hanging up the phone, people say “Bye….bye..bye.” There are many more, but these are just some of the things I noticed today.

(Group with the Lambeg Drum)

After being at the hospital, I headed back home and we learned about the Lambeg Drums. This is a traditional instrument in Northern Ireland. It’s made out of oak, goat’s skin, and hemp. Each drum has artwork on the front. We also learned that the Lambeg Drum is the largest double-sided rope drum in the world. It’s also the loudest folk instrument in the world. We got the chance to play the drums and trust me; they are the loudest drums I’ve ever heard. These drums are particularly loud because of the design of the mallets that are used to beat the drum. It was nice to learn a little more about the local culture and get the chance to play the loudest folk drum in the world! Other than that, it’s about time for bed. Another day at the placements and Megan arrives tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the La Crosse chapter reuniting at last!

(Artwork on the Lambeg Drum)

Goodnight! Or should I say Bye… bye..bye!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Day 4: Downe Hospital and Dundrum Castle

Good Evening for Dundrum!

Today was the first day of our placements, so I was headed to the Downe Hospital. We got a bit of a late start because we missed the 8am bus. Unfortunately, we had also read ALL the bus schedules incorrectly, so we thought the next bus would come soon, but it wasn’t scheduled to come until 9:30am. We were supposed to meet at the Saint Patrick Centre at 8:45am, but we didn’t even leave Dundrum until 9:15am because we decided to take a taxi. In the end, it all turned out and I arrived at the hospital eventually. The Downe Hospital is new and it is very visually pleasing. Apparently, it has won awards for its design elements. It looks very modern and seems to be quite technologically advanced. I’ll have to post pictures in the next few days when I get a chance to take some.

After arriving at the hospital, I met Karen who is the Clerical Services Manager. Karen supervises all reception areas (each area of the hospital has its own) and the medical records area. I was given about an hour tour of the hospital and got to meet a lot of Karen’s staff, as well as a few others at the hospital. After the tour, I headed to the outpatient reception area. Outpatient care encompasses things like audiology (hearing aids), dental, and medical (patients referred by their general physician.) In order to be seen at the hospital, a patient must have seen their general physician to get a referral. This is referred to as gatekeeping. While I was in reception, I met a young woman named Emma who is the head receptionist. I’m not sure how old Emma is, but she’s younger and I really enjoyed working with her all day. She let me do a bunch of things, like going into the computer system and scheduling appointments, organizing the charts for the next day, doing appointment attendance, etc. It was quite different from the normal atmosphere I’m used to, which is the billing and insurance portion of healthcare.

The plan for the next two weeks at the hospital is to stay with reception for the first week and then during the second week I will get to go up to the wards (patient’s rooms) and shadow different areas. This way, I’ll be able to truly see as many differences between healthcare in the US vs. healthcare in the UK. I have already noticed a few things that were quite interesting. Back home in Waukesha I work at Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin (OAW). This is a clinic with 14 doctors. While the Downe hospital is much larger, I was surprised to see that the hospital only has one coder while OAW has three coders. Coders are the people who read the doctors notes and decipher what procedures and diagnosis’s to enter into the computer. In the US, this is especially important because different codes get different levels of reimbursement, so it is important to specify. I also seemed to notice that patients in the UK are more polite. Typically, when a patient in the US is told they will have to wait longer or the doctor is not available, (when they stop in unannounced) the patient will get quite angry with the receptionist, nurse, etc. From my experiences today, that is not the case in the UK. Maybe it’s because patients in the UK are not asked to pay money up front in the form of a co-pay, or they are used to the waits. Other differences are rather small, like sorting charts by alphabetical order rather than the time they arrive. This is not a detail that truly matters, but it’s something I find somewhat interesting because I think it would make more sense to sort charts in the order in which they will arrive. Additionally, patients keep their chart for life. Charts are only kept in the hospital for about 3 weeks after the patient’s case is closed, but then these charts are sent to a storage facility in Belfast. When a patient has an appointment in the future, the chart is delivered from the storage facility. This is why the charts tend to be quite thick. This is not the case in the US. We tend to keep charts for 2 years after any inactivity, and then documents are scanned into the computer to be accessed in the future, at least this is the way it works at OAW. I was quite surprised to see that they do not use electronic medical records, but apparently, it has been discussed and thought about, which is similar to the situation at OAW.


(Dundrum Castle)

At 5pm, I left the hospital and headed back to the Saint Patrick Centre to catch the bus with Ryan, Annie, and Jenn. Then a short time after, Kaitie, Alessia, and Andrea returned, along with Tim and he bought us a dinner of fish and chips. Following our dinner of fish and chips, we decided to go get an ice cream at Brennan’s. Everyone says that Brennan’s has the best ice cream, and it is rather good, but I hate to say it, but I’m more of a fan of Wisconsin’s custard. After all, we are the dairy state! Then, after heading to get ice cream, we headed up to see the Dundrum Castle. It’s an older castle that is in ruins, but it’s still really pretty and it was great to be there. We took tons of pictures and were able to have a lovely view of the bay, Mourne mountains, and town of Dundrum. On the way back from the castle, we stopped at the Dundrum Inn to have a pint with Tim and the group and then we headed home. Most of us are pretty tired from out first day of placements, so we’ll probably go to bed rather early, or earlier than we have been. Tomorrow is another day at our placements, so I will update you more then.


(View from Dundrum Castle)

Slán (So long in Gaelic)

Monday, May 31, 2010

Day 3: Stormont Estate and Killyleagh

Good Evening Everyone!

Today was one of those days where plans changed every few hours. We were supposed to leave our cottages at 10am to head to Stormont and also explore downtown Belfast. I should have known right in the beginning when the bus driver arrived a half hour late that this day was not going to go as planned, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The late arrival didn’t actually affect us too much because we had a very speedy bus driver named Anthony. We got air on a few of the hills he was going so fast.


(Stormont Estate)

Upon arrival in Stormont, we headed to the Stormont Family Fun Day, which was located on the grounds of the Stormont Estate, which is where the Assembly in Northern Ireland is located. We didn’t spend much time on the grounds of the fun day because it was geared completely towards children, and let me tell you, we saw quite a few of them. The way up to the Stormont Estate was quite a hike. It was about a mile total from the gate to the actual building. On the way up, Jenn ended up injuring her knee and ultimately needed to go to the hospital for stitches. While Jenn was at the hospital, we went on a tour of the Stormont Estate and saw where the Assembly meets and where the Senate would meet if Northern Ireland had a Senate. We were given this tour by one of the aldermen in Northern Ireland by the name of Jim. Following our tour, Tim had to leave to meet up with Jenn, so we were left under the care of someone named Elizabeth who works at Stormont Estate. Elizabeth was younger and very fun, so it was great to spend time with her. We went and had lunch and then we met up with Basil, who is an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly). Basil then took us up to the balcony of the Stormont Estate. This was awesome because we got to take tons of pictures and no one else from the Family Fun Day was allowed up on the balcony, so we all felt like VIP’s. It wasn’t originally planned, but it was a great use of time!


(Kaitie and me with Basil on the Stormont Estate balcony)

Then, once Jenn returned from the hospital, with 7 new stitches, we headed to Killyleagh (also not originally planned) because Basil had made arrangements while we were eating lunch to go on a sailboat. While driving to Killyleagh, we learned about how Killyleagh was where a man named Hans Sloan was from. Hans Sloan was famous for creating chocolate, but we weren’t there for chocolate, we were there for sailing! When we got to the sea, we met a man named Eddie. Eddie is about 70 years old and he was the man that Basil knew that owned the sailboat. We all got on the boat and went for about a 2.5-hour sailboat ride, drank some wine, and chatted with Eddie and Basil. It was a bit chilly, but we really enjoyed the trip because we got to see a lot of gorgeous houses near the sea.


(View from the sailboat in Killyleagh)

Following the sailboat ride, we returned back to Dundrum and ate dinner on our own and just relaxed for awhile before writing our blogs. For dinner, I ate some leftover salad from yesterday and some instant mashed potatoes. I’m not the biggest fan of mashed potatoes, but I was certainly not a fan of these mashed potatoes. Looks like I’ll be eating a lot of pizza and pasta the rest of the time here when we cook our own meals because at least those are things I know I can eat and enjoy. It’s going to be a bit earlier night tonight. I’ll probably be in bed before 11:30pm because we start our first day of our placements tomorrow. I leave to catch the bus around 8am to give ourselves a little extra time since it’s the first day. A few of us are catching the bus together to the Saint Patrick Centre and then Tim is going to drive us to our respective locations. I’m sure I’ll have interesting things to say about my placement at the Downe Hospital tomorrow. Until tomorrow, goodnight!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Day 2: The Fair and Hillsborough

Good Evening from Ireland!

Well, the second day in Ireland is ending as I write this blog at 12:30am (Ireland time). Today was a bit more relaxed than yesterday, but it probably seems that way because today we weren’t detained and we didn’t just arrive after a 6-hour flight. I woke up this morning having gotten about 9 hours of much needed sleep. We left for the National Countrysports Fair which was in Moira Demese, Northern Ireland around 10am. It took about an hour to get to the fair and we met Tim and his wife on the way there. It was a gorgeous, sunny day in Northern Ireland, so I was quite pleased to spend the day outdoors.

(Owl and hawk at the fair)

The National Countrysports Fair is, as their website puts it, “widely recognized by Ireland’s country sports community as the showcase event for Irish country sports and rural living.” I truly got to experience some of the Irish culture that you don’t always hear about at this fair. Upon arrival, we met up with the Ulster-Scots Agency, which is an agency devoted to “Discover[ing] your history.” This history is about the people who migrated from Scotland to Ulster. The Ulster-Scots had a tent at the fair and were very accommodating. We were able to sample soda bread (which is delicious!) and then we were given a short tour of the fair. Additionally, we got to meet Maynard, which I have heard a bit about from Kyle O’Brien (last year’s La Crosse chapter Young Ambassador) and Tim. While at the fair, we also got to do a little exploring on our own. We saw the sporting dog show where the dogs did tricks. It reminded me a bit of home because my neighbors back home in Waukesha are quite into sporting dogs and have a Gordon Setter and English Setter. We also got to see a bunch of hawks and owls and then saw falconry (definition: training birds of prey to hunt and return). The highlight of the falconry was when one of the falcons came and landed on Tim’s head and he had to assist with part of the show, along with Ryan, one of the other Young Ambassadors. The reason this was so funny is because Tim is afraid of birds, so you can imagine how interesting of a show it was! Afterwards we did a bit more exploring, ate some lunch, and tried some seaweed, which is apparently quite popular in Ireland. You’ll be surprised to know that I did not like it. It was too salty and a strange texture. I’ll still eat it in my sushi, but it’s not something I plan to eat alone.


(View of a cathedal near the Hillsborough castle)

On the way back from the fair we stopped in Hillsborough and saw the Hillsborough castle. We also got to see the lake there, which was absolutely gorgeous. I’m so glad that it was sunny outside because the blue skies, green trees, blue water, and white swans were beautiful and I couldn’t have imagined it on a cloudy day. Getting to see the castle was awesome too! We took quite a few pictures because it was so beautiful. Following all the pictures, we headed back to Dundrum.

(Lake in Hillsborough)

After we arrived in Dundrum, we hung around our cottages for a little while. Most of us connected to the U.S. world via-internet. Then a bunch of us decided to go to the grocery store and buy a few things and make dinner together. We had salad and spaghetti. Following dinner, we basically all sat around and talked while telling stories. It was a great night filled with lots of laughs and getting to know each other more. I think that’s it for now, it’s time for bed. Goodnight everyone!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Welcome to Northern Ireland: Day 1

Good Evening from Dundrum, Northern Ireland,

We’ve arrived in Northern Ireland and oh what a journey it has been already. The last 36 hours have been some of the longest hours of my life. In fact, the last few days have been long. I was quite busy at the beginning of May studying for finals, turning over my duties as student body Vice-President and assuming my new duties as student body President, and bidding farewell to close friends who were graduating. All this activity left me little time to prepare for Ireland, let alone think about it, so that’s what I’ve been doing the last few days. After all, this is my first time out of the country and only a few days to actually prepare for the trip may not have been enough. I had to buy all my travel necessities, get a converter/adapter for electrical outlets, figure out how currency works here, etc. It was a lot to cram into a few days, but it doesn’t compare to the past 36 hours.

I left my home in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA at 10:55am on Friday, March 28th for the bus stop at Goerke’s Corners. The bus took me straight to O’Hare International Airport where I checked-in and was informed that flights with service to Newark, NJ were delayed. Continental Airlines wanted to bump me to an earlier flight to ensure that I would make my connecting flight to Belfast. I was booked on a flight set to leave at 3:30pm. It left a little late and it was on the smallest plane ever (only 19 rows with 3 seats each row) but I got to Newark and had time to relax. Once arriving at Newark, I found two of the other Young Ambassadors, Ryan and Andrea from the Minneapolis chapter. I didn’t have a chance to meet the other Young Ambassadors until boarding the plane to Belfast and still I hadn’t met a few until after the flight landed in Belfast.

The flight to Belfast was quite long. I was seated in the exit row, which I thought to be awesome because of the extra room until I found out that the seats didn’t recline. That was a big bummer because it was quite difficult to sleep. The food was okay, we had chicken and rice for dinner and fruit and a croissant for breakfast. The best part was the personal tv screens in front of each person. I watched “Up in the Air” and played a few games of Bejeweled. I also watched a few episodes of CSI: NY.

After getting off the plane and going through customs is where the fun begins. Usually the Young Ambassadors fly into Dublin, which apparently has a lot less strict customs. Well, the customs in Belfast decided to detain us because apparently the rules just changed and ANY work whether paid or unpaid requires a Visa. Luckily, Tim was at the airport and the customs woman went and talked to him and he won, so we all got to get our passports stamped. We had to wait a good hour and a half, but it was great bonding time and we all got to know each other. When the lady came back to tell us whether we were staying or leaving, she said that we had to go home… she was joking, but only half of us could see her smiling and saying we were good to enter, so the other half was really worried that we’d have to return to the U.S. We finally got our passports stamped and left the airport. There was literally NO ONE in the rest of the airport, not even airport personnel. It was creepy.

(Picture of the back of the Dundrum cottages)

Then Tim met us and we took a bus to Dundrum to drop off our bags. The ride was a bit scary because we weren’t used to driving on the opposite side of the road. This was not to mention that the roads are much more narrow so it seemed like the speed limits were a bit too high for the roads, but we made it safely. Once in Dundrum we unpacked our bags from the van and then headed right to the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick. While at the Saint Patrick Centre, we got a tour and learned a little bit about the Northern Irish culture and what we would be doing the next two weeks. We also had a bit of tea and sandwiches. Then we headed back to Dundrum and unpacked our luggage because only one of the cottages was available at the time. Since most people didn’t want to move their stuff, only three of us are in the other cottage for now until Megan arrives. I can’t complain though because it’s nice when it comes to the bathroom situation. There are three bathrooms in the cottages and only three of us, so it’s perfect. In my cottage, I share a room with Kacie who is from Pittsburgh, Ryan is in the room across the hall, and he’s from Minneapolis. After unpacking, we just hung out around the cottages for a while and relaxed. I took probably the best shower of my life and then we got ready for going back to the Saint Patrick Centre for the welcome Barbeque.

(Peace Garden Rocks)

At the Barbeque, we met a ton of locals who mostly had connections with the Saint Patrick Centre in some way or another. We also put our peace garden rocks in the peace garden and had some delicious food. Following the food, we mingled and got to talk to those at the Barbeque from Northern Ireland. Then we headed back home, relaxed, went to the pub down the street for a pint, and then went to bed. Overall, it was a great day, very eventful, but exhausting. Goodnight everyone! Crazy that it’s only 5:30pm in the USA.

(View of the Peace garden at the Saint Patrick Centre)