Hospital Mt Edgecumbe 25 bed critical access hospital

Hospital: Mt. Edgecumbe. 25 bed critical access hospital. Mother Ship of South. East Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Med Staff: 5 Family doctors in primary care 4 FP/IM docs for inpatient/ER 1 FTE pediatrician 2 General surgeons 1 OB/GYN 1 ENT ½ Ortho 1 Psychiatrist 3 CRNAs A Day in the Life… Sitka, Alaska

Each week: 6 half-days in primary care clinic. 24 hour “on call” with ER and inpatient medicine (with a postcall afternoon off) 1 half-day for other clinical activities- DM educator, radiology, OB/GYN, pediatrics, public health RN, nursing home visit, etc… 3 days of the rotation at a village visit if available Clinic delayed for an urgent c-section. Hao Tong greeted the baby and reviewed NRP.

“Bonus” day favorite activity: Burgess Bauder DVM suture clinic. Local dive fisherman, lighthouse builder, and part-time probono veterinarian welcomes students to his clinic from 3 -6 pm to teach suturing skills. Students get to assist on vet surgeries and get a unique perspective on life in Southeast Alaska. Dandi Huang helps provide post-op care to a goat. “What would Burgess do? ” He would teach the students to suture.

Family docs travel to remote villages of Kake, Angoon, and Hoonah for a week at a time four times/year. Villages have 200 -500 residents. If schedules permit, students join for 2 -3 days of the week. Travel to and from villages is by small plane or ferry only. No roads go in or out. Village travel Hao Tong gets off the beaten path in Haines, AK

Sitka is a historic home of the Tlingit people which later became the capitol of Russian America (known then as New Archangel). Sitka was the place where Alaska was transferred to the US in 1867. We ask students to spend a ½ day exploring the museums and historic sites of the town, reading about the history, and reflecting on how the culture and history may impact their interactions with Tlingit patients in the present day. History, place, and culture

Students are asked to present a case from their time in Sitka to the medical staff at Friday morning sign out their last day. They provide us with a handout of clinical pearls. In one of the most memorable talks, Adinda Demsky taught us how to do an emergency canthotomy in the field using a Swiss army knife! Share a case.

Students enjoy the arts, culture, and outdoors that Sitka offers. Patrick Bloecher harvested a black tail deer between open mic performances. Laura Thornquist was a runway model for a physician's “Wearable Arts” masterpiece. Others hike, run, climb, knit, bake, and do their FM cases. After hours…