Finally back in Bonn

After traveling to 4 different countries in 2 weeks it felt great to be back in Bonn. I was mentally and physically exhausted. Thank goodness we got to sleep in Monday since we didn't have lectures until 10:15. That was to prep us for the following day at the uniclinics, which began at 6:45 am. Going into  uniclinics I did not know what to expect, but was very excited since this was my first time observing surgery.  I got assigned to the urology department and the first surgical procedure was not invasive surgery. The patient had an enlarged prostate and the surgeon used a scope and laser to remove the inner part of the prostate. This was a quick procedure, and was a warm up for the surgery to come for me. The second surgery was a man who was having his prostate completely removed due to cancer. The previous year he only had the inner part removed, but a year later the cancer was back and it was decided the prostate needed to be removed. This surgery was much longer. I was pleased to discover, that surgery didn't bother me or gross me out. The prepping of the patient really covers all the body except the one part that is being opened and makes the patient not seem as much like a person. I don't mean this in a bad way, since their is great care taken to perform a successful surgery and keep the patient alive, but the prep did distance the process, in a good way to me. The anesthesiologist and surgeon were both very nice and would point out different parts in the body and answer my questions.  I also enjoyed observing how well the surgeon and his assistants worked together, it worked like clock work and everyone knew what to do with either no words or only one or two. Since I want to be a dentist this will most likely be the only surgery I ever watch, but I was very fascinated and enjoyed the experience a lot. After the long day of surgery we all made the trip out to the Birkenstock factory workers because hats what any good tourist in Germany would do. It took around an hour and a half for all of us to decide on a pair (or multiple) and head back to Bonn. But it was the perfect end to our successful day all scrubbed up in the hospital.

One lecture this week that I really enjoyed was the lecture on different healthcare systems. I didn't really know much about ours going into the lecture, nor did I pay much attention to the recent changes since I am on my parents insurance plan, but it really did get me thinking about our healthcare system. It's unbelievable how expensive ours is and that there are still so many uninsured people. Whereas even in Germany, which is considered a pretty expensive system, it is still significantly cheaper than in the US and everybody has insurance. That just doesn't add up to me.  It also got me wondering how long it would take for the US to transition into a different system if that was the case. That would be a huge change, and what would happen to the insurance companies and everyone who worked there? .

Over the weekend I traveled to Switzerland. The land of cheese, chocolate and the alps. We took terrible trains there, due to our lack of planning. We left Bonn st 3:30 in the morning, changed trains twice and got to Zurich at 10 am. The first objective of Switzerland was quickly accomplished with lunch, which was eat fondue. Little did I know fondue cheese was going to cost $30 bucks and m Starbucks drink would cost $8. People weren't lying when they said Switzerland was expensice. After the first day of walking around and exploring Zurich we went to Luzern for day two. Here we went on an excursion that consisted of a lake Luzern cruise and then going up Mt. Pilatus. This excursion was absolutely beautiful, and it was pretty cloudy so I can't imagine when it isnt cloudy. Luckily we got to he top of he mountain just as the clouds were rolling in which made for some pretty great views. One crazy thing is on the gondola ride down the mountain a guy in our gondola with us was from the town right next to where I live back home. It was such a small world!

The study abroad trip is starting to come to a close and I cannot believe how fast it has gone by!

Not ready to leave anytime soon,
Megs