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| 05 JUN 2010 - Timeout Photo By: COL Brucker |
"Timeout" is a double entendre in today's post - in the operating room, it serves as a moment of pause for patient safety and has been pushed out as a standard of care in the United States by groups like The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO). Of course, TJC doesn't exist in Afghanistan (insert your own opinions here)... but its so ingrained in our actions that we can't help but yell out "Time Out!"... If you're a surgeon or otherwise work in an operating room, you might find a bit of humor in all this (if your part of TJC.. then you have no humor and I don't really care what you think). Also, for those that have been in my operating room back home, then you know the spiel that I can roll out during the timeout process... I do it here too :)
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| 05 JUN 2010 - Timeout 2 Photo By: Unknown |
Fortunately, there was a real and true "time out" to be had. I got lucky this morning (after a late night of work shown above) and bumped into my two favorite Jordanians. Dr's Jarrah and Qayet. I got a tour of their clinics. In the photo above, we are in their dental clinic. Possibly knowing (or sensing) that I had less than a full night of sleep, they offered me Arabic coffee. This was not the Turkish coffee that my brother drank during his distant travels (and described as something similar to what comes out the back of a camel). No... this was excellent coffee with my friends. It was dark with rich flavor augmented by cardamom spice, making it somewhat sweet without the need for sugar (I don't ever put sugar in my coffee... eck.. spoils the flavor). So thank you my friends! I now have the energy to read all on my desk, respond to emails and possibly even go out and run.
