the biggest hospital in the world

I was juyst flipping through 'The Medic's Guide to Work and Electives around the World' was looking for elective opportunities in the near future.. infact, some electives have to be organised years (about 2years+) in advance in order to secure a place!

one of the places i came across was The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg South Africa. Don't fall into the same trap as I did, thinking that it was just some insignificant small town african hospital, rural and underequipped. the first line of the introduction floored me: "It has 4000 beds serving three to four million people in Soweto" 4000 beds?! that's the capacity of Singapore General Hospital (1,515 beds), National University Hospital (928 beds) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (1,200 beds) all in one!

Wait it gets better: "The surgical pit in the ER is world renowned for the amount of trauma seen. Its like working in a war zone. HIV is though to be around 15%. Elective Notes: This is a very very dangerous area (no kidding) Once inside the guarded (!!!) hospital you are safe. (from gangs that come in to finish up where they have left off) The medicine seen is very impressive. The final year students and yourself basically do the job of a houseofficer. You must try to spend some time in the Surgical Pit. There are many local and elective students. Say hello to everyone and you'll get loads out of it. Students get to do lots of procedures while the big boys remove the bullets. Fifty percent of patients have stab/gunshot wounds (!!!) It is very popular with German students. An elective here comes highly reccommended if you are interested in a trauma career." Accomodation: Can be arranged through the University which supplies a list of private houses and hostels. Account for around GBP5/day. Dangerous: Elective students get mugged here. If you can live in fear you will learn load and the opportunities are immense. Once inside the hospital, everything is fine, but be careful if going out alone."

Is that hardcore or what?

In the web artice by National Public Radio, I found it especially touching when in a virtual tour of the hospital, that shows a day at Barawagwanath Hospital through the eyes Sister Agnes Ramashiga, there is a picture of the staff gathering in the morning meeting every day. There is singing in the background as Sister Agnes Ramashiga explains, "This is how we start every morning. We ask the lord to give us strength for our daily job." She accounts the HIV epidemic that has spread through the region and how its like now, when "there is a funeral almostevery day, there are alot of death that have passed my hands"

It wasn't so much what she said but how she said it. The resolve found in her 17 years of working there. Still un-numbed by the sheer number of dying and sick she sees each day. It reminded me of one of Shakespeare's quotes "some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them"(Twelth Night - Act II, Scene V). Sister Agnes Ramashiga would probably be oblivious to the fact that her contribution has made a difference to the many that have passed through the corridors, too sick perhaps to recognize who their carer was. She could be 'merely doing her job' but in doing so, she like many others, have made a difference to each of the patients they have cared for.

It's just so encouraging :)