The neurosurgeons requested that I accompany them on a two day retreat out of town, in Nazaret, 50 miles, but a 2 hour ride from here. Said I should be at the hospital to get on the bus at 6:30 am. I guess I should have been suspicious when they told one of the residents to pick me up at my hotel at 6:30. I had on 3 layers but was still very chilly/cold standing outside at the hospital with no bus in site. Slowly residents began to appear, and by 7:15 a bus pulled up; 40 year old very long Mercedes bus that could barely get up the hill to the hospital but was going to take us to Nazaret. Finally, thankfully we were out of the cold on the unheated bus and on our way at 7:45. That’s about right for “Ethiopian time”. This was a retreat for the entire department of surgery, but only the neurosurgery residents, not any of the others.
Nazaret is in the Rift Valley, one of the most potentially violent earthquake zones in the world. Within an hour it was quite hot. There was air conditioning in the seminar room, unfortunately emanating a bone chilling cold that thankfully went off after 2 or 3 hours. I was prepared to be totally bored, and was through some of the formal presentations. However, the panel discussion at the end, which lasted quite a while, was surprisingly constructive and thoughtful, and meaningful comments and recommendations that I did not think was within their capability. Not because they do not have the intelligence, they are very smart; however, their discussions with each other at the hospital tend to be bland, safe, polite .... and meaningless. This was different.
I was finally given an agenda for the retreat and shuddered to learn that the entire second day was general surgery, which for me would be quite a bore. Thankfully, one of my resident friends was driving back at the end of the day and I was able to return with him.
We had very good and plentiful food for lunch and at breaks, so I just went to a pizza place up the street for a late dinner.
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