West Coast Adventure!

Hello from San Diego!
At the end of my last blog I was heading off to San Francisco on the Amtrak (which was amazing!) and just arrived in San Diego late last night after my first day on the infamous Greyhound buses! I've been trying to avoid flying as much as I can as I'm not much of a fan anyways but you also miss so much by skipping huge areas that are so much fun to pass through on the bus. For example when we changed in Portland (Seattle to San Francisco leg) I stepped outside to get some fresh air where the man beside me promptly soiled himself (I know this because he announced it loudly) and then vomited before lighting a cigarette, grabbing his skateboard and heading off with his mate without so much as a pause. Now would I have seen this if I had flown!? I highly doubt it!😂 Apologies to anyone from Portland reading this but it was literally the only thing that happened while I was there, I even bought a fridge magnet in the station to commemorate the occasion!😂
Anyways, the Amtrak was brilliant and really comfortable, even in coach for 23 hours!

Quick stretch stop off the Amtrak in Oregon!

When I got to San Francisco it was straight down to business. I dropped my bags off and headed straight to UCSF where I would be spending a few days working with nurse practitioner Roseanne Krauter and her colleagues in the ENT dept. This visit and my visit to St. Paul's in Vancouver were actually made possible by a colleague of mine. Prof O' Donoghue is one of our ENT surgeons in Queens who has put me in touch with friends and colleagues of his all over North America which has been such a huge help on this trip. I mean, I did buy him a muffin from Costa to say thanks but I thought a mention here wouldn't go astray either! Thanks Prof😁

I spent my first day shadowing Rosie and Dr. Limb whilst they saw their patients. So Rosie basically sees any patients that aren't for surgery. So patients with vestibular issues, follow-up appointments post-op or patients who are having or have had radiotherapy/chemotherapy. It was great to see the nurses role being utilised so well as in my experience all of these patients would be seen by a doctor rather than a nurse. Of course Rosie being a nurse practitioner helps as she has the extra qualifications and experience necessary for the role but it was great to see! 

I also spent some time with an amazing RN called Michelle who showed me around the rest of the building and clinics. She mans the emergency line which patients can call with queries and concerns regarding a surgery or anything really. One call really made me realise how lucky we are with the NHS. A patient needing a hearing test before their next appointment, due to changes in their insurance, can now not have it done on the day before their appointment as their insurance now states it must be done by a doctor. In UCSF only the audiologists do the hearing test (which makes perfect sense to me, I know who I'd prefer doing my audiogram! No offence to any doctors but there's a reason these guys do what they do, they're good at it!) so now everything has been delayed for this patient because what their insurance covers dictates everything they do. It was the same with a patient who has had frequent tumours in the past needing a CT scan - it can't be ordered until they double check that the insurance covers it. The messing around and time wasted on admin and red tape because of the cost of healthcare otherwise is crazy!

Imagine having had cancer and then having to jump through all these hoops while trying to check that you don't have it again! The last thing anybody needs! People are just so used to it here though, they just get on with it because there's no other choice really.

I should also mention my hosts in San Francisco although I didn't actually meet them! Last year's scholar, Alix, stayed with Sasha and Lauren Cuttler and put me in touch with them when I decided to go there. Although they were away on my dates they still let me stay in their home where I met Harpo, their dog and couldn't get lost trying to find their house if I tried due to this sticker!

I threw myself into it once again at the weekend to try to see all the sights San Fran has to offer. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge, caught a trolley car, went to Pier 39, popped up Coit Tower and went to Alcatraz and Angel Island over the 2 days.

What a difference a day makes!

I've always wanted to go to Alcatraz but by the time I booked the only thing left was a combined tour of Alcatraz and Angel Island which ended up being a bit of a hidden gem! Angel Island is beautiful and was the Ellis Island of the West coast back in the day as well as a quarantine centre during the plague and a missile post during the Cold War! I also hadn't known about the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island back in 1969 which basically kick-started most of the Indian rights activism that we are familiar with today. Definitely worth a trip to both for anyone heading to SF!

The Rock

Repping in my Uni of Notts jumper on Alcatraz!

I am currently in San Diego where my hospital visit fell through at the last minute. It's been a bit of a blessing in disguise though as San Francisco was fairly hectic and I've agreed to do all sorts of things in Houston which seemed like a great idea at the time but now that it's a week away doesn't seem quite as doable. This includes giving a presentation to the faculty of the university I'm visiting so actually having some unexpected time here in San Diego to prepare said presentation is extremely welcome!

I spent all of yesterday on Greyhound buses and aside from the 20 miles to the border (and you never know, I might pop down just to really finish the job!) I've travelled the entire West coast of America by bus or train! Woo!

My next trek, which is absolute madness, is from San Diego to Houston. It'll take me 3 days to get there by Greyhound but to be honest I don't mind the long journeys once the bus is actually going. They stop regularly to let you get off and stretch your legs and get food etc. It's more that they literally couldn't give 2 hoots about where you're going and when you need to get there and regularly run 3-4 hours behind with no apology. Both my buses yesterday were delayed by hours but I managed to play the Irish/woman travelling alone card and blag my way onto other buses. The accent is an absolute life saver at times not to mention that it's usually middle aged men at the station who think you are a bit of a damsel in distress. If only they knew!😂 Either way, something worked and I got to San Diego before midnight so I'm counting it as a win!

In Houston, I'll be spending almost a week with the nursing students and staff of the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth. That's if I ever make it on the bus, let's hope my luck holds out!😊

Slán go foill

Kate