MEDICAL TOUR TO TANZANIA IN THE JULY HOLIDAYS, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO TRAVEL TO KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA FOR A MEDICAL PLACEMENT AT A RURAL HOSPITAL. THE JOURNEY COMMENCED WITH TREPIDATION AND NERVES OF EXCITEMENT AS MY JOURNEY SPANNED 32 HOURS AND THREE FLIGHTS TO MY FINAL DESTINATION. ON ARRIVAL, I WAS MET BY THE WONDERFUL STAFF FROM GAP MEDICS AND FROM THAT MOMENT ONWARDS I KNEW I WAS IN SAFE HANDS. THEN, MY AFRICAN EXPERIENCE BEGAN.
Above: Nisha Jayachitra and Dr Muselya
The first week, I was placed in Gynaecology and Obstetrics with two other students and our wonderful mentor, Yohana. The whole maternity ward consisted of one operating theatre and one examination room with patient beds on one side. Three minutes into our orientation, a newborn unconscious baby came through! From that minute I was hooked into this department. We were lucky enough to witness caesareans and natural labours, along with some minor procedures. The patients were obliging and kind enough to let us practise general and foetal exams on them. Taking blood pressures, checking for anaemia, using a fetoscope and my bare hands for examinations was amazing. We were taught so much and walked through every surgery. I was even offered the opportunity for a cervical exam. But the highlight had to be when I told Yohana that a new patient had twins; three nurses and an ultrasound later, I ended up being right! Our education varied from the right way to examine a placenta to examining a newborn baby, and exceeded all the textbooks!
In the second week I was placed in internal medicine with hakuna matata Dr Muselya, who became my ever cool-hero. We did ward rounds with patients who faced a variety of diseases including tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria, diabetic feet, COPDs and stage 4 HIV progressed into AIDS, which we would never see in Australia. We had the opportunity to clean infected wounds under our doctor’s supervision. Due to the cost of anaesthesia, it was usually avoided in many procedures and ‘pole anaesthesia’ (sorry anaesthesia) was given instead. The strength of the patients and the bravery of the doctors to manage these situations was remarkable, even if distracting the patient came in the form of negotiating a dowry for me! All the doctors, nurses and patients went out of their way to make sure we learnt from them. They enforced questions, made sure we understood everything and taught us like medical students. Dr Muselya, with his dedication but laid-back attitude whilst functioning on three hours of sleep, became an inspiration. He set me on the medical path by posing us ethical questions, showing us interesting cases and even making us stand in a morgue reciting cranial nerves till the cold and smell didn’t bother us anymore. However, the best part had to be all the like-minded students from around the world I had the opportunity to meet and become instant friends with. My only regret was that this trip wasn’t longer and I can’t wait to hopefully become a medical student one day and go through this exciting career. I would like to thank all the people who helped me make this trip a possibility: my parents, Mrs Thomson, the WA Journal of Medicine and the staff of Kibosho hospital and Gap Medics. Asante sana!! Nisha Jayachitra Year 11
After each day at the hospital we had the opportunity to visit the town, the local orphanage or the markets. This was followed by global health tutorials by doctors on prevailing issues in their hospitals, such as malaria, HIV, malnutrition and trauma. We also enjoyed Swahili lessons by our ever-smiling staff at the house. We visited an African village, Rundugai, where we met a traditional midwife and a herbalist and swam in natural hot springs. During the weekend we headed to Tarangire Safari Park, where we viewed magnificent giraffes, elephants, zebras and the cast of The Lion King within a gorgeous landscape. It was an amazing retreat into the heart of Africa after an action-packed first week.
Achievements
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