The opportunity to work overseas is a highlight for many in Washington University's orthopaedic surgery residency training program.Bethany Gallagher, M.D., a 2009 graduate of the residency program, traveled to Cambodia for her international experience.
The photo above is of Kossamak Hospital, a 3-story open-air facility without an elevator.
Ambulances that pulled up to the hospital did not have any monitors or lifesaving equipment in them.
Instead of providing food for the patients, the hospital provided open flames and hot plates at the patient's bedside. Entire families stayed at the patient's bedside providing nursing care (shown below to the left).
The cost of care differed immensely from treatment in the United States.Cost of Care:
$0.50/day for sheets
$2.00/day semiprivate room
$7.00/day private room with TV
$20.00 CT scan
The Operating Room is shown to the left.
During Bethany's time in Cambodia, she treated fractured hips, femurs, tibias and missed compartment syndromes. The experience was life-changing for Bethany, as for many of the residents in the program.
