VISTA Staffing Solutions | Locum Tenens

Kathryn today!

Just a little story as I prepare for a three-week Indian Health Service locum tenens assignment in Tsaile, Arizona, near Canyon de Chelly:  The first time I hiked in Canyon de Chelly, seven years ago, our group found a little border collie dog near death under a tractor down in the canyon.  Long story short, we got her to a vet in Gandao who managed to save her from parvo.  And the next thing you know I’m calling my husband from Albuquerque to tell him: “Honey, I’ve got this precious dog we saved.” One call to Delta to add her on to the flight, a visit to Pet Smart for a carrier, and a bath at the hotel in Albuquerque later – she came home with us! We named her Kathryn after the Navajo woman who owned that tractor. Later that week my husband said, “I like the dog!”  And she’s been his ever since. She weighed 15 pounds then, was about six months old, and undernourished. Now she’s at 60 pounds and one of our joys – so I’ll give her regards to the Canyon when I’m in Tsaile!

P.S. Check out Blackhat Humane Society, http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/rezdog.html, a non-profit organization established in 2000 that is dedicated to rescuing and finding homes for abandoned animals and livestock. They are the only Humane Society on the Navajo Reservation (an area roughly the size of West Virginia).

We spent three weeks in Australia and enjoyed a wonderful dinner cruise in Sydney Harbor.

Happy New Year 2011! 

 It certainly does not feel like Christmas / New Year with sunset at about 10 pm and sunrise at 4 am here in New Zealand. Although the temperature is only about 80 degrees F it feels much warmer with the piercing sun – when it comes out. We just had three solid days of rain and gale force winds closing the airports in Invercargill and Dunedin. I survived the coldest winter with the greatest snowfall in the history of Invercargill over the last 60 years. The weather is constantly changing even in one day – might be 35 F in the morning and 80 F in the evening!

 The biggest news is that I am not returning to the US. I have applied for permanent residency in NZ and have accepted a permanent job here in Invercargill!

 I think that coming here has added 20 years to my career. Unless you have experienced it, I don’t think you can really understand what being in a kind, relaxed place is like. People are nicer. Patients and families say thank-you. Wait times can be four to six hours for minor cases on the weekends and there is not the anger and sense of entitlement that one sees in a US ED. There is a more collegial relationship among the physicians also.  I really like the people I work with. There is such a sense of camaraderie and mutual support – among all the staff.

 I also enjoy medicine much more here than in the US.  There is less diagnostic testing and more emphasis on history, physical exam and clinical decision making. At first I thought it odd that I had to discuss with the radiologist to obtain a CT or ultrasound but it actually helps and the limited hours of availability guarantees that only truly necessary scans will be obtained. There is a sonosite machine in the department and I have gotten decent with doing my own bedside scans. The registrars (like US residents) are trained to make clinical decisions and are comfortable with it. Abdominal pain that is unclear gets observed with serial exams. If still unclear, CT may be considered or alternatively a quick look laparoscopy.

Greg spent 10 days up north catching trout.

 There are openings here if anyone wants a break from the US ED! You can arrange your own job either here or in Australia, but for a short-term assignment I strongly recommend going through an agency . I went through VISTA (and so did several of the other US docs) and was very happy with what they did. The District Health Boards actually hire the doctors but you have to get a work visa, a license (annual practicing certificate from NZ Medical Board and a bunch of other paperwork.) The three other locum tenens ED docs and one internal medicine doc who I worked with who went through VISTA are all outstanding – and no, I get no kick-back from them! Plus, NZ is rated by the UN as the third best country in the world to live.

 Two of the US ED docs in three months have managed to go sky diving, bungee jumping, scuba diving, surfing and kayaking in the Milford Sound and then went to Sydney to celebrate the New Year which is a huge spectacular on the wharf there. They have also taken up fly fishing and been golfing with my husband, Greg.

Our Akitas, Miko and Katana, attract a lot of attention wherever we go.

Happy Festivus 2010 – Happy New Decade 2011!

I’ve been working as a locum tenens in the emergency department of a public hospital in New Zealand since April of 2010. The international phase of my EM career is going well. To keep my brain limber, I took and passed the Certified Wound Specialist certification. I took the test at the testing center in The University of Auckland. Now I can take care of your wound on any continent.

To match my flexible schedule, Linda volunteers at the local SPCA

My wife, Linda, not finding a position that has the flexibility to take off when I have off, has been volunteering at the SPCA in Rotorua three days a week.

While attending a trauma conference in Queenstown last July, we hit the beautiful slopes of Coronet Peak and The Remarkables every afternoon for my first ski experience. After each lesson, we hit the bunny slope like pros!

Skiing in July!

In August we flew to Christchurch to see the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team play the Australian Wallabies. We won! The perfect Kiwi experience. 2011 brings the Rugby World Cup to New Zealand.

By September we were sick of winter and went to Tahiti for 10 days for a warm, sunny interlude. We stayed at a resort on Moorea with the bungalarium over the water.

We escaped winter for 10 days in sunny Tahiti.

Early October we went to Wellington via Taupo and Wanganui. Wellington is named as the fourth top city in the world to visit in 2011 by Lonely Planet. We had a great time. For Halloween we learned the Thriller dance and participated in the Rotorua Zombie Walk.

For Halloween we learned the Thriller dance and participated in the Rotorua Zombie Walk.

In November we were off to visit Nelson & Blenheim. We took the ferry across Cook’s Strait to Picton to visit the region. From home that’s a six-hour drive to Wellington – 3½ hour ferry ride – 1½ hour drive to Nelson. We spent a day at Abel Tasman National Park. Fabulous! Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in NZ; however, we celebrated with turkey and all the trimming with some ex-pat friends from the US, a few Kiwis and a couple from New Caledonia.

This December we spent a week up north in the Coromandel peninsula. The limestone formations at Cathedral Cove were beautiful. It rained like crazy all week. But that didn’t stop us from seeing the sights. I’m pretty sure Linda was trying to kill me driving on that winding, gravel road with a cliff drop off to the ocean on one side and usually rock face on the other. Although she swears she was always on the road — I’m pretty sure a tire hung in mid air a few times!

The scenery was breathtaking--literally.

In January we plan on scuba diving at Poor Knights in the Northlands. It was listed as one of Jacques Cousteau’s top 10 dive sites in the world. Gotta see it!

In February 2011 we are going to Napier for a week at the beach and to see Sting in concert at the Mission Estate winery.

March will bring visitors. First our great friends from North Carolina will be here for 2 weeks. Then Linda’s cousin and her hubby will be next. They like biking so we are working on their route around North Island since they peddled South Island last year.

In between the bigger trips, we enjoyed Rotorua and made a lot of smaller trips to Auckland, Hamilton, and Mt. Maunganui.