May 1st

The past 2 days were our first encounters with PAHS. Originally, Patan Hospital was a mission hospital and was privately run, but recently it was converted over to being government owned and operated. Dr. Rana gave us a tour around the hospital, and we noticed the facilities were generally well maintained and well equipped relative to other hospitals in Nepal, but it’s still below the standard seen in Canadian hospitals. We then met with the Dr. Karki, the vice chancellor of the hospital and discussed our intentions of going into medicine and our general background. Dr. Karki described Nepal and how its progression only started around the 1950’s and has made rapid changes,  “quantum leaps”, since then. It was inspiring to talk with someone so intelligent and dedicated to improving Nepal’s medical system. We were then introduced to the 1^st and 2^nd year students after their classes, and they were very excited to see us. A brief introduction followed by the exchange of emails, phone numbers and tentative plans lead to the conclusion of our first day at PAHS!