Sarah- Patients in Cardiology

I walked hesitantly into the cardiology department, hearing no English and following the doctor I was assigned to for patient exams. The patient rooms were painted a sort of bland yellow, but the view was magnificent. The windows were huge and looked across Angra and out to the sea. The doctor would talk to the patient, in Portuguese of course, and then explain to me and Amanda what was going on. Privacy is not stressed in the hospital at all. Over half of the patients that had a problem and recommended treatment refused the treatment and wished to go home. For example, we oversaw our doctor telling a middle age woman that she stay for further treatment, and through I could not understand the language, the woman’s face was of pure disappointment, and even anger. She wanted to go home, she wanted to not look out at the view but be part of it.