My name is Dan Hazelton, a second year Biomedical Science student, and I spent three weeks on a combined medical and volunteering project in Meru Hospital and Cradle of Love orphanage in Tanzania. Both were located in Meru, a small area in the shadow of Mt. Meru, to the west of its ‘older brother’, Mt. Kilimanjaro. My girlfriend and I stayed with a family in the small village of Usa River, which slowly became our home over the coming weeks.
On the first day, after 16 hours of grueling travelling through three countries, I arrived at Kilimanjaro airport, in dire need of the weekend to recover. However, a fellow volunteer had other ideas, and I ended up at Arusha National Park the following day, a thoroughly enjoyable trip, even if I was asleep for half of it! After being collected from the airport by Charles, a local taxi driver who we would see many more times around Usa River throughout our trip, we made our way to the Mgonja household in Usa River. We were met there by two of the loveliest people I have had the fortune to meet- Zablon and Pretty. Pretty was pregnant while I was visiting, and I hope to go back soon to meet the latest member of the family! Throughout the first weekend, I noticed the stark contrasts between daily life in a country such as this and what I was used to back in the UK. However, the close knit community feeling was apparent from the beginning; from the way everyone greeted each other as they passed, to how well Zablon and Pretty knew their neighbours from all over Usa River!
My combined project saw me visit the hospital in the morning each day, after which I would make my way to the orphanage for the afternoon- a long but fulfilling day! At the beginning of my first week, Joshua Kuboja, the local coordinator, introduced us to the Dala dala. I had heard about transport such as this prior to leaving, but to experience it is another thing entirely. Although a full dala dala could be quite cramped, I loved how regular they were, so much so that I rarely saw the Usa River dala dala stop without one! Using one to reach the hospital, I began my first day by meeting the matron, who was very friendly, and quite evidently wanted to improve the hospital by asking for our feedback at the end of the trip. She proceeded to give the other volunteers and I a tour of the various wards, including paediatrics, female, male, minor and major surgery, outpatients, and family planning. I immediately noticed that the wards were allocated based on necessity; the most common diseases had their own wards, such as Diabetic clinic or the TB ward. I realised that this was a consequence of the general lack of resources in the country; the hospital treated the majority first, then allocating resources to other areas when they become available, the most sensible approach.
I visited every ward, but spent most of my time in Minor Surgery, as I loved the hands on aspect there. The doctor on duty, or a medical student on her elective, would always be happy to teach me basic procedures, such as wound dressing removal/changing, plaster cast application/removal, and stitch removal, and help me complete them myself. In addition, being ‘in the thick of it’ allowed me to apply knowledge that I had already learnt, and to build upon it. For instance, I changed the dressings of a patient nicknamed ‘Babu’ (Swahili for grandfather), then watched as a final year medical student advised the doctor to change his antibiotics, as it was evident from the state of his wound that his infection was resistant.
Viewing major surgery was another major highlight for me; seeing my first caesarian section was exhilarating, the baby’s first cries were wonderful to hear, as a new life was brought into the world. Again, differences between here and the UK were on show, with some aspects such as equipment and drugs used completely different to those used in the UK. For instance, I was initially surprised to see ketamine used as a local anesthetic, but was quickly informed that the one in use here was the non-recreational type. I also saw a vaginal cyst removal during my time in Major ops, and was impressed with the speed and precision with which the doctors completed the procedure.
After spending the majority of the first week in Major ops, the following weekend was a bank holiday (lucky!), so we decided to go to Arusha for the weekend. Taking the dala dala further than I had previously, as the hospital was at the halfway point in a village called Tengeru, was a bit daunting but not a problem at all in the end. Once in Arusha, I realised just how large a city it was- a sprawling, chaotic, but ultimately amazing, concentration of people from all over the world, with buildings that all looked different. You could literally have bought anything in Arusha; shops selling motorcycle parts sat next to diners, which were situated opposite souvenir stores. Over the weekend, we visited the Maasai market for some haggling and buying of souvenirs, and Meserani Snake Park just outside the town for some reptile viewing and interaction. A very enjoyable weekend indeed.
The following week, I began work in the Male ward, and moved between the other wards as the week progressed. Viewing and assisting in wards rounds allowed me to monitor progress of patients over time, and see the journey that a patient took through it- from outpatients, through the wards, and into minor or major surgery if necessary. Outpatients was particularly interesting; the sheer breadth of diseases on show was astonishing, with many eradicated or far less common in the UK, such as HIV, TB, and Hepatitis B. Doctors used preliminary tests for the these diseases, and allowed me to test patients myself in due time. Often, diseases such as diabetes that are prevalent in the UK had progressed further than I had ever seen- a man came in with an amputated foot due to gangrene. I found out that progression of diseases such as these were often due to poor compliance and nutrition, a situation common in the country. My time in outpatients was topped by fulfillment of a small childhood wish- to learn how to use a stethoscope. I always remember having one when I was young, and am grateful that I finally got the chance to use a real one!
Overall, my work experience in the hospital was a truly amazing experience, both teaching me a great deal about all aspects of medicine and healthcare, whilst allowing me to grow as a person in confidence, making some great friends and, ultimately, helping people. However, as you would expect, there were several areas of possible improvement within the hospital, some with fairly simple solutions, others with more deep rooted causes. Therefore, in my feedback, I tried to target only the problems that could be easily solved, to try to make an impact during my short time at the hospital. Also, some doctors were less approachable and less willing to share their knowledge that, although it was initially more difficult to learn at times, it taught me to use my initiative more- a surprising silver lining in the situation.
In addition to the hospital, I visited a local orphanage in the afternoons, which offered a different experience entirely. Cradle of Love, an orphanage halfway between the hospital and Usa River, was fairly well funded, with good facilities and plenty of staff and volunteers, which surprised me initially, as I was expecting a far more degraded infrastructure. After visiting a far less privileged orphanage later on the trip, I realised that the children at Cradle were lucky to be here, but no less deprived of the most innate human craving- attention and care. Over the next three weeks, I cared for children from babies to around age 3, playing with them and assisting feeding. I had worked with children before in the UK, but not this young, and was surprised in many ways. The children were split into four groups depending on walking ability (and age): babies, crawlers, wobblers, and toddlers. I spent most time with the wobblers and toddlers, as I enjoyed the more hands on and busier style with the older kids. Full of energy and very clingy as children of that age are, I proceeded to build such strong relationships with some kids that I didn’t want to leave at the end of each day! I can honestly say that there are not many better feelings than giving attention to children that are so obviously deprived of care, and not many worse feelings than leaving at the end! Unfortunately, some of the kids weren’t used to men at all, and proceeded to cry whenever I went near them, which was the opposite of what I intended! Ultimately, although I know the kids won’t remember me, I will always treasure the time I had with them, as they brought out my inner child, and made me realise how lucky I am to have parents.
On another note, before I began to research Tanzania as a country, I didn’t realise how rich it is- not in monetary terms, but in culture, in natural wonders, and in surprises. Unfortunately, I could not visit the Serengeti, or climb Kilimanjaro, or stay on Zanzibar, but I plan to do all these things when I go back, as I have heard amazing things about them. In fact, I wouldn’t have been able to do all those things in the time that I had even if I tried! Instead, I went on safari to Tarangire and Ngorogoro National Parks, and can honestly say it was unbelievable. The pictures don’t do it justice; you must visit yourself!
In the evenings, the volunteers and I would have Swahili lessons, taught by Joshua, which offered a glimpse of the culture of Tanzania. I enjoyed learning the language, as it was surprisingly easy to learn once you knew the basics. It also helped no end in the hospital, as I was soon able to pick up bits and pieces from the conversations between doctors and patients, making the experience easier and more satisfying.
One day, I wish to go back to Tanzania and stay with Zablon and Pretty (and hopefully their son/daughter!), but I’m so glad that I chose to organize my first visit through Global Medical Projects, as it offered safety and security that I would have struggled to find myself. Therefore, I’d like to thank Kevin Dynan and Joshua Kuboja for their help, as I could not have had this wonderful experience without them. Also, I’d like to thank Zablon and Pretty, who were the perfect family to live with; friendly, kind, and welcoming, I can’t thank them enough for putting up with me for three weeks! Also, the friends I made out there will stay with me forever- the staff at my places of work, and the volunteers that I spent my time with, they all contributed to my amazing experience.
In conclusion, I’d definitely recommend the combined project that I chose, as it provided two different aspects of Tanzanian society, offering a more comprehensive view than I would imagine a single project does. It was a wonderful life experience, and one that will stay with me for life, but is also very useful to those prospective medical students, as it taught me a great deal about the profession, its successes and difficulties, and helped me grow as a person.
Many people combine time at the hospital with time at the orphanage and this combination often works well. Combined placements are only £100 – $160 – €120 extra to cover the additional donation to the orphanage.
My name is Chris and I spent one month volunteering on a medical project elective in the village of Meru,Tanzania. During my time in Africa, I worked in many different departments at Meru District Hospital, but I enjoyed my experiences in the ER and major surgery theater the most. Meru District Hospital was situated near the heart of third world Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, an area impoverished with limited resources in many aspects of health care, whether it be the medicine distributed, sterilization supplies, or the way the public was educated on healthcare. In an area where health insurance didn’t exist, people of all shapes and sizes would crowd the emergency room daily with many different health concerns. It was during this month I learned exactly what it would take to work as a medical doctor in an area of unwarranted variation.
When I arrived in Africa after a day and a half of flying halfway across the globe, I was exhausted. If I didn’t have the weekend to rest, I’m not sure if I would have been ready to work that first Monday. It was during the weekend though that I was able to embrace a bit of the Africa feel. One aspect I really appreciated right away was the community bond I felt between all members of the village I stayed in, Usa River. As I drove on the main road to get to the village from the airport, my host family Zablon and Pretty Mgonja explained how thick the soil was throughout the Kilimanjaro area, and as a result it was extremely dry and clean water was often a major issue. Right away I realized that it was these little things that would begin to make an impact on me throughout my trip.
As my first week at the hospital began, I was introduced to the Dala Dala, a public transport van that would travel from village to village to take me to work. At the hospital, I was greeted by the hospital matron and after reviewing my resume, the matron requested I deliver a presentation on immunology to the entire hospital. Before the matron gave me permission to begin my work, she showed me every department within the hospital. As we walked along the district hospital I saw how every department resembled a piece of a puzzle; it was like the hospital was a village in itself. Some of the departments included pediatrics, major and minor surgery (ER), female and male ward, AIDS ward, and even a TB ward. The matron permitted access to every department, but because of my passion to become a surgeon, I immediately dove right into work at the ER department. When I began my work, the staff treated me very much like a medical student; the nurses and doctors were so
welcoming and eager for me to learn and practice new skills. At first, much of the staff was very instructive, teaching me the basics of suturing and injecting needles, but by the end of the first week there was nothing or nobody to hold me back, I was caring for dozens of patients all on my own every day..it almost felt too good to be true.
As my time in Africa grew, I was finding myself more and more involved in the ER and surgery department, so much that even ethical issues in medicine were starting to surface amidst my experiences. One of the most startling issues was that many of my patients were young females who had given themselves abortions. Because abortions were illegal in Tanzania, young women would often damage their bodies by giving themselves an abortion; it was my duty to make sure to clean out the reproductive tract and make sure the woman would not have any further health issues down the road. These kind of situations made me aware of how politics and social situations can influence certain factors in healthcare and it made me understand how my only view was simply to help a person in any way that I could. My time in the ER helped me deal with injections, POP casts from broken limbs, auscultations, catheters, stabbings and wound cleaning, seizures, gunshots, and even motor vehicle accidents. I was getting so involved and with the amount of trust and responsibility that was bestowed upon me, it just felt right to keep going. Sometimes I would clean out an infection, whether on an infant or an elderly man, I knew how bad it would hurt to make that incision to flush out the abscess, so I would sometimes just let the patient hold onto me and squeeze my arm whenever it would hurt them just so I could hurt a little bit too and feel their pain. In my mind It was all definitely a case of learning fast, being confident, and embracing any challenge with a grain of salt, but I wanted all of that so bad…I wanted to keep learning; It was like I had something to prove. The ER shaped me the most out of all the departments, but it was being able to assist with both suturing during a cesarean and hernia surgery in the major surgery department that really made my experiences most memorable.
Easily the best thing about working at the Meru District Hospital came in my last week of work. Of all the time I spent working, I felt the most experienced in my last week, and as a result the matron and staff allowed me to do rounds in the male and female ward. I would show up to work and begin my rounds around 8am and would finish up by 11am. Some of my cases included stroke, malaria, and AIDS patients. I remember sometimes being amazed at how different such cases were than the standard patient one might see at a hospital back in the US. I took each patient as a lesson, spending time with them, analyzing their treatment regimen, and making sure their condition was on its way to being stable. I must have looked like such an alien to some of those people, but that never stopped me from giving them my best care. My most memorable moment though was when I had the opportunity to deliver a baby in the female ward. It was perhaps the most exhilarating moment in my life, being able to take charge in such a situation. It felt completely natural. I look back on my achievements and realize that I would not have been able to do some of these things in the US. These are some of the moments that I will remember for a long, long time.
On my last day at the hospital, the entire hospital staff showed up to listen to my presentation. During my placement I truly felt that infectious diseases and unwarranted variation prohibited many of the people from being healthy, so I decided to base my presentation on the basics of innate and acquired immunity.The entire presentation lasted about 45 minutes, followed by a series of questions asked by several staff members. Near the end of my presentation, some of the doctors and head staff members made me feel humbled by acknowledging all the work I did in the last month at their hospital. As I write this 3 months since I returned from my trip, some of the faces still stick with me. These people really gave up their time to teach a stranger. Of all the feelings I felt during this trip, I realized that there really are a lot of good people in the world, you just have to carry an open heart. I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.
Even though the application process and the gruelling flight hours may have seemed like a challenge at first, going through this experience with Global Medical Projects helped me to meet some really amazing people that I consider a part of my family now. When you share the same meals, experiences, and a roof under your head with people who are there to take care of you, you establish this connection that can truly last a lifetime if you let it. At first I was a bit concerned being the only volunteer to stay with my host family, but both were fantastic in meeting any of my needs/requests, including picking me up from the airport, assisting me with my bus fare to work when I needed it, and even helping me plan an excursion to the island of Zanzibar for a weekend trip. Perhaps the thing I valued the most that they showed me was an orphanage down the road from where I was staying called “Good Hope.” After visiting the orphanage 2 weeks into my stay, I told myself that I would visit the kids everyday after work no matter what. Seeing those smiling faces really made the trip worth it, and because of the orphanage I made a promise to myself that I would go back to Usa River once my journey to becoming a doctor is complete.
Like Chris, you can combine the medical project with time in the orphanage. This is only an additional £100 / $160 / 120€. Read more about the orphanage projects here
I assume you can organize your own placement directly with Meru hospital if you wanted to, but I would strongly recommend going through a company such as Global Medical Projects the first time around, as this provides you with the safety and security which, in my opinion, truly matters when you may seem like a complete stranger to the country and it is easy to stand out. I am truly grateful for all that the staff at Meru District Hospital went through to teach me how to be a better medical professional and I am forever humbled to be so warmly welcomed by the entire village of Usa River during my placement. When I arrived to Usa River, I remember going to the village church on my second day and feeling like a stranger completely lost in the culture, but as I think back on my journey, I think of Usa River and Tanzania on a whole as a hidden place, tucked safely away from the world, concealed by the high walls of the Meru and Kilimanjaro mountains. It all almost felt like being in a place rich with strange beauty, like being in a dream. I would like to further extend a thank you to my family and friends for supporting me through my journey, the staff at the Commonwealth Medical College for inspiring me to strive past any limit, and to Kevin Dynan of Global Medical Projects for helping me through the entire application process. All of these amazing people have helped me grow in ways unimaginable, but my warmest gratitude goes out to the Mgonja family in Usa River, Zablon and Pretty – for teaching me that you don’t have to be blood related to be a part of a family, I promise to hold onto that bond no matter where my experiences may take me.
With a sweaty hand, I nervously clutched my backpack and stepped foot out of the plane. I took a deep breath as I admired the warm, yet quiet evening in Mexico. There were no other planes at the airport and the sun had just set. In the distance, I could see the soft-glow of the airport lights surround me as I patiently waited for the shuttle to bring me to the nearby terminal. Who would be picking me up? I know someone is coming, but I don’t speak that good of Spanish. I hope they can speak a little bit of English. I was nervous and so many questions flooded my mind, but it was now. Now, was the time for me to step out my comfort zone. I had just flown out of the United States for the first time in my life and my volunteer journey with Global Medical Projects was about to begin.
For the past two years, I have worked as a paramedic in the United States. Although I love my job as a paramedic, I had always had a desire to provide care in an underserved area outside of the United States. By volunteering abroad, I was hoping I would gain invaluable knowledge by experiencing another culture, learning about other health care systems, and by being exposed to different medical differentials and techniques. Little did I know that as I nervously stepped out of the plane that evening, I would be fulfilling all of those desires by the end of my trip.
After being picked up that evening by Alberto, one of the volunteer coordinators for Global Medical Projects (and yes, he spoke English very well), I was taken to my “families” house. Prior to arrival, I knew I was going to be assigned to live with a family in Guadalajara and that the family would be providing me with 3 meals a day as well as a clean, safe living quarters. The coordination with getting to Mexico was effortless. Kevin, the program director based out of the United Kingdom, was very quick at responding to calls/emails and kept me informed with any changes in living arrangements, assignments, and with answering any questions/concerns that I had.
When I first arrived at the house, I immediately felt at ease. Since I had a late arrival that evening, the family had just finished eating and had been expecting my arrival. They were overjoyed to meet me and welcomed me right away to eat some of the meal they had just finished. The father of the family spoke a little bit of English, but he encouraged me to use some of my Spanish since the mother did not speak any English and she was quite excited to talk to me. After gaining some confidence from the father’s encouragement, I felt comfortable attempting to use my basic Spanish (with, of course, a little help from Google Translator). Not only was the family waiting to greet me, there were two guys sitting at the kitchen table. The two guys were student paramedics/ volunteers from the United Kingdom who had already been volunteering for a week longer than myself. The two volunteers were wonderful and they shuffled me up the stairs to show me my bedroom.
Although my room had two beds in it, I had my own room and shared a bathroom with the other two volunteers (who also had their own rooms). Mary, the house mom, kept the space very clean and was constantly concerned if we were getting enough to eat or if we needed anything. This fantastic hospitality remained the whole trip and the house really felt like my home away from home. There were many nights of delicious family dinners followed with great conversation, games, and laughter in the upstairs living room.
My first day in the city was relaxed. I was able to sleep in before Alberto returned the next day to take me around the city. We wandered the city and soaked in the culture. Alberto made sure to take me to some of the best food and drink spots. Although the city was hustling and bustling, it was so much fun because we were able to take the city bus around to see so much of the city including: the old churches, family owned coffee and food shops, shopping centers, the heart of downtown Guadalajara, and the other main hospital. Alberto took me to Cruz Verde, the hospital I would be volunteering at, and introduced me to the staff. The staff hardly spoke English, but that didn’t stop them from trying to talk to me- they were incredibly friendly and inviting! They wanted to know who I was, what I wanted to help with, and what I already knew.
I spent a bulk of my three weeks in the hospital.The hospital experience was perfect. As volunteers, we took the bus and train to the hospital every morning around 7 am. We were “on-duty” from 8 am to 2pm. I was able to assist and perform many procedures (under the guidance of one of the physicians) that are not normally in the scope of practice for a paramedic in the states. Some of the most memorable things that I was able to do included removing and doing stitches, directly assisting in the operating room, helping put casts on patients, assisting with cleaning and wrapping wounds, starting IV’s/setting up drips of medications, assisting during cardiac arrest, and etc. The list could go on. Some interesting cases that I saw included: multiple cardiac arrests, a scorpion sting on a little girl, a traumatic femur fracture, a man stung by hundreds of bees, and a man who went into anaphylaxis due to eating a duck egg.
In the emergency room, as a volunteer if you simply asked, you could learn and assist with almost anything under the guidance of the doctors. They truly wanted us to learn and help as much as possible. Not only was I able to pick their brains about medical procedures, but I was able to understand how their health care system worked. By the end of our trip, the doctors and nurses became close friends to us. We often went out in the evenings together and they truly made us feel like we were part of the hospital family.
Following my experience in the hospital, I decided that I wanted to branch out and volunteer for the night shift on the ambulance. The ambulance night shifts were 12 hours long. I was paired up with another volunteer for the evening shifts so I was not riding the bus and train to the hospital by myself. We were on separate ambulances, but we stayed in the paramedic quarters in the hospital when we weren’t on calls.
The only way to describe the paramedics is with one word: passionate! They were incredibly passionate about their job and were extremely proud to be able to provide people care in a pre-hospital setting.. Although their trucks are not equipped with cardiac monitors and cardiac drugs like the US and UK, they otherwise had similar pre-hospital drugs and interventions. Since the city and hospital does not have a lot of money to put into the ambulance service, the paramedics were very careful not to be wasteful and they often “created” there own splints as necessary. Some calls that we worked included: many motor vehicle and bike accidents, dog bites, very sick elders, and traumatic injuries on work sites.
As a volunteer, I rode third person in the back of the ambulance’s captain chair. (Let’s just put it this way: you definitely had to buckle in and hold on when they were driving emergency traffic or you risked flying out of your chair!). The director of EMS made sure that we stayed with the same paramedics during our time volunteering. My two paramedics were no different than the hospital staff in the respect that they wanted me to be at home. Between calls, they would often sneak me away to see something “cool” or to eat a traditional meal that I was “required to eat” before leaving Mexico. They made sure I got the true Mexican experience. In the field, similar to the hospital, the paramedics let me function as a paramedic. I noticed in the homes that the residents of the city were extremely respectful and thankful for the paramedics. It was a wonderful experience to see and the respectfulness truly reflected the “Mexican way of life” (as they would often tell me about).
When we weren’t working in the hospital and on the ambulances, we were able to venture around the city of Guadalajara and surrounding cities. The evenings were often full of fun adventures to shop, eat, drink, and enjoy the Latin culture. The weekends were especially exciting because we elected not to work on the weekends (although you could if you wanted or needed to). As a group, we picked places we wanted to go see and would travel to them via Uber or the bus. One weekend, we took a bus to Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta was a neighboring beach city about 4 hours away. We were able to book an “Air B n B” hotel room for extremely cheap to stay right on the beach. Another weekend, we got rained into a “fiesta” in a nearby city and enjoyed some local drinks and festivities- not so bad to be rained in with good food and company!
After my three weeks were up, I found it difficult to leave. The culture was incredibly inviting, I felt part of the hospital and EMS staff, and I had made wonderful friends. I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity I get to go back. Thank you Global Medical Projects for providing a safe, fun, and invaluable learning experience that was, and is, an experience of a lifetime!”
You have decided where to go and have booked your place on one of our medical projects, now the nerves really start to kick in! On the one hand you’re excited for the adventure of a lifetime, travelling to a destination you’ve never visited before, and meeting new friends. However, the prospect of visiting a new country, experiencing a different culture and local language will fill most people with understandable trepidation.
If you’re stuck in the midst of a planning nightmare or slightly nervous about the trip ahead, then keep reading for our guide on the things you should be prepping for your volunteer adventure. We’ll take you through the important documents and vaccinations you need, how to keep home sickness at bay and learning about the local area you’re visiting.
Remember Important Documents
As people join us from all over the world, we can’t include flights. Additionally, many volunteers join our placements as part of a wider round the world trip so it’s much easier for you to arrange your travel arrangements around your prior plans. Don’t worry though, we’ll give you help and advice on all the preparations and what flights to book. Once you have confirmed your flights, let us know the details and one of our friendly members of staff will come and meet you on arrival at the airport.
You’ll also need to remember to organise your travel insurance for the trip. It can be tempting to book the cheapest insurance available, but make sure you read the policies clearly as you want to ensure that you are fully covered for your whole trip, this includes; baggage, cancellation, medical and transport claims.
Many of the destinations also require you to have a visa which you will need to organise. Without a visa you won’t be able to enter the country you wish to visit, so it’s always advisable to organise this well in advance of your scheduled departure date.
Medical Preparation
The majority of medical volunteer opportunities are based in countries where medical and sanitation conditions are not as good as at home, as such it’s more than likely that you will require vaccinations for your trip. You can find out which vaccinations are free and which are to be paid for on the NHS website. It’s worth remembering that most vaccinations need to be given around 8 weeks before your travel date to ensure you can receive the full course.
As well as your vaccinations, you’ll also need to ensure that you’ve got a first aid kit and any other medical supplies you might need for your trip. Include things such as; plasters, painkillers, sterile dressings, antihistamines, insect repellent, rehydration solutions and bandage tape in your kit.
Packing Your Bags
Packing your bags is the exciting part as it means your trip is just around the corner. You will need to make sure that you have the right clothing and anything else you need for your medical placement with you. Remember to pack for weekend trips and clothes appropriate to the hospital. We’ll give you a kit list of the key items to take in your pre-departure information.
Read more about our handy hints to what to pack here>>.
Check the Local Area
As you’ll be travelling to a completely new part of the world, it’s essential you do as much research as possible before you begin your trip. Our team will be able to advise you on what you can expect, but it’s also worth chatting to people who’ve completed volunteering there previously. A previous student will be able to tell you all about how they felt before the placement, what to expect throughout the trip and help advise you on anything you simply must take with you.
The local culture will be extremely different to what you are used to. Embrace local traditions and customs on your trip with an open mind and sense of humour. Try learning the basics of the local language too. Basic phrases such as; ‘hello’, ‘how are you’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ can go a long way in helping to integrate you into the country.
Overcoming Home Sickness
Being so far away from home and what you are used to can be a shock, so try to beat the homesickness before it arrives at your door. Taking lots of photos with you, whether they are printed or on your phone, can be a great comfort when you’re missing home.
If you’re feeling lonely then the worst thing you can do is yourself isolate further, so talk to those who are also on placement and keep yourself busy. The internet may not always be readily available in poorer countries, but there are often a few internet cafes so you can easily Skype back home.
In some cases the internet can make homesickness worse too, so avoid overdosing on facebook when overseas or you may miss out on exciting trips or meeting new people.
Plan for Downtime
Your days will be full on but there will still be time for lots of fun in between your day to day placement duties. It’s important to make the most of your time wherever you travel, so making a list before you go of the sights you want to see can help you make the most of any down time you have. A guidebook is essential reading before you go and will help with planning weekend trips.
It can also be a good idea to pack a few items to keep you entertained once your day to day duties have been completed. A couple of books or your iPad with some downloaded apps on can help to kill time when you have a spare few hours.
Organise Finances
How much money you require for your trip will completely depend on the destination you are visiting and the duration of your stay. We’ll give you an idea of how much to take but it’s always a good idea to take a little extra for must have souvenirs or activities.
Many areas now accept card, but it can be advisable to notify your bank before you travel to avoid them blocking your card due to different spending habits.
These are just some of the things you’ll want to prepare before you begin your adventure, so keep these in mind before you embark on your medical placement. We are on hand both before you travel and while you are overseas so never be afraid to ask, even if you think it’s a stupid question. The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask!
Whether you’re booking a holiday abroad, the travelling adventure of a lifetime or embarking on a medical volunteer placement in a less developed area, the next thought often isn’t about how to stay safe abroad. You’re more likely thinking of the fun you’ll have and the memories you are set to make.
But safety should be your number one priority no matter where you are travelling or your reasons for going. There’s certainly a lot to consider both before and whilst you’re abroad, so take a look at our guide and make safety the top of your agenda.
Do Your Research
Once you have decided where to go, the next thing to do is to check the safety and security locally. You can find out the essential information on government websites. The UK Foreign Office, US State Department, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and most government foreign services will provide you with travel briefings. They will tell you if you should avoid travelling to a country and about the current political stability and safety issues.
Do be aware that they are obliged to tell the story warts and all. Be reassured by phrases like ‘Most visits are trouble free…” and take heed of some warnings like “We advise against all but essential travel”!
Don’t Show and Tell
When you’re exploring it’s more than likely that you’ll want to use the map app on your smartphone or snapping away on your fancy camera. But try you absolute hardest to keep this to a minimum as you’re effectively making yourself a walking advert for a gadget shop.
Keep valuable items in a secure backpack or bag and where possible try to wear it so that the opening faces inwards to you rather than outwards, thus making it harder for anyone to get into it.
Hide your money
If you’re going to a much less privileged country or neighbourhood then don’t flash the cash. It’s likely you’ll stand out from the crowd as it is, but try to blend in as much as possible to avoid becoming the target.
Don’t change all your money at once and keep cards and excess cash secure. If you do have large amounts of cash on you, divide it up and keep it in various pockets so you are not bringing out a massive wad of cash when paying for a bus ticket or bottle of water!
Money belts are useful but in hot and sweaty countries are uncomfortable to wear everyday.
Scan Important Documents
You’re going to need a fair few important documents whilst you’re abroad – especially if you’re volunteering – and whilst you may try to keep them as safe as possible, sometimes things sadly get misplaced or lost forevermore.
Some countries require you to carry identification documents at all times. Scan copies of important documents such as your passport and visa, and email yourself essential paperwork you need throughout your stay. It’s always a good idea to have a backup, as even the safest of hands can still lose items. And remember to keep your accommodation details on you too if you’re prone to a bout of forgetfulness.
Be Wary of Using Personal Details
You won’t always be able to find wifi so you’ll often need to use internet cafés. You may have made friends with the owner and trust them, but if you don’t have to then avoid typing in your personal or bank details in online. Always look for the ‘Secure Visa’ mark if you do have to. Most browsers have an incognito or private option which prevents passwords typed into banking or facebook apps being stored on the computer.
Be cautious about handing over your passport number or personal details when you’re in a face to face environment too. That’s not to say that everyone is out to get you. Far from it. But you don’t want critical personal information to fall into the wrong hands, especially abroad when you aren’t used to the rules and regulations.
Insurance
Whatever you do, don’t travel without making sure you have a fully compressive insurance package in place for your trip. You can do all the forward planning in the world and things can still go wrong, so make sure you have the right protection in place.
A good insurance policy will protect you when luggage goes missing, cancellations, delays, emergency assistance and medical cover. Plus, it’s so simple to sort out and isn’t a costly expense at all when compared to the costs you could face if you fail to invest.
Find a Trusted Friend
You may be tempted to want to explore on your own and feel the freedom that exploring a new country on your own brings but don’t put your safety at risk. Try to travel with a trusted friend, and always travel in a group or at the very least in pairs.
Always let someone know in the group or back at home where you are going. If you do go out on your own, then try to walk near another group of people to avoid standing out as a single person.
The Roads and Public Transport
Vehicle maintenance, road conditions and the standard of driving overseas are very different to home. Therefore, the biggest risk to your personal safety is travelling on the roads.
When using public transport, choose the safest looking bus or taxi. The vehicle is unlikely to be as well maintained as home but if it looks fundamentally unsafe avoid it – there will be plenty of opportunity to use another vehicle. The same goes for the driver. If he looks drunk, exhausted or just untrustworthy, move on.
Avoid using buses at night. If travelling home after a night out on the town, use a taxi.
Crossing the road can be an adventure in itself. If crossings exist it’s unlikely that drivers will pay any attention to it. Take extra caution when crossing the roads and look both ways. The traffic is probably coming from a different direction to what you’re used to!
Get a Health Check Up
Your health is your wealth so don’t put it at risk by forgoing a health check-up before you depart on your travels. If you’re travelling to far flung destinations then it’s more than likely you’ll need vaccinations for your trip. You should allow around 3 months before your travel date in order to make sure you have enough time to receive the course of injections.
However, you should still keep in mind regular hygiene routines are vaccinations are never 100% effective. Keep a hand sanitiser on you at all times and don’t drink the local water either if you don’t have too.
Get your teeth checked out too. The last thing you need is a dental issue miles away from good dental care!
You’ve booked your placement, your travel dates have been set, and you’re all ready to go – apart from packing your case. But what do you take on your volunteering adventure? Volunteering abroad is no holiday – far from it – so you’ll need a whole different set of clothes and equipment compared to what you’d usually pack for a holiday abroad.
You are unlikely to have volunteered abroad before and whilst you can of course find out from others what to pack and get their advice, everyone is different and what you take compared to the next person will vary.
To help you decide what to pack for your travel odyssey we’ve put together a handy guide of all the essentials you don’t want to forget.
The Case
It can be tempting to want to pack everything but the kitchen sink in your biggest suitcase, but volunteering is not a luxury holiday where your bags are ferried around for you and you’ll probably be surprised at how little you can actually get by with.
A travelling rucksack is the most portable option to pack your volunteering wares in. It’s best to invest in one of the big name brands to make sure you’ve got something of a high quality to go away with. Packing squares are also great to separate out your clothing items by type and allow you to quickly find what you’re looking for rather than rummaging through a stuffed backpack.
Surprisingly, we don’t discourage you from taking a case either. If you have a permanent base such as a host family or volunteer accommodation, a lockable hard case can be a good place to store the clothing and work items you don’t need to carry when heading off exploring at weekends.
A day sack is also an essential item to take in combination with a large rucksack or case. You won’t need to take everything you’ve brought with you for weekend trips so a day sack can come in handy for transporting just the clothes you need for the beach or bazaar and all the must have souvenirs!
Clothing
We will give you a comprehensive list of what you’ll need for the placement and much of what you need will both depend on the length of your placement and location. However, some items are common to all placements and these are some of the must-haves.
Sturdy and comfortable footwear – something with a good grip and cushioning
Rainproof or lightweight jacket – a foldaway mac will work best if you’re short on space
Jumper or hoodie
Lightweight tops which you can layer up – the weather is often unreliable so pack items which you can add or remove as necessary
Shorts, skirts or trousers depending on the weather
Underwear and socks
Something relatively formal just in case
Swimwear
Remember that some clothing that’s acceptable at home may not be in the culture in your host country so make sure you pack items that respect other customs and religions.
Toiletries
Things can get pretty weighty when it comes to all the toiletries you need for your trip, so make sure you keep an eye on your weight allowance before you buy heavy duty bottles of shower gels and shampoos. It’s also worth remembering that you can buy most toiletries in shops locally so bring small travel bottles and stock up on what you need when you arrive.
However, it’s worth noting that the brands and ingredients will be very different to what you’re used to. If you have sensitive skin or hair you might want to bring enough to last the whole trip. Feminine hygiene products in particular are often very different overseas so we’d recommend bringing enough to see you through.
Shampoo and conditioner
Dry shampoo
Brush/comb
Shower gel/soap
Deodorant
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Sun cream
Razor
Moisturiser
Wipes
Lip balm with SPF
Tweezers
Nail Clippers
Medical
Taking a mini first aid kit on any type of holiday is always advisable, and even more so when volunteering abroad. Try to pack this lightly as you’ll usually be able to buy extra medical supplies if you need too. Most first aid packs have slings, bandages and trauma items you are unlikely to ever need. Here are the essentials you’ll definitely need:
Plasters
Antiseptic wipes and cream
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen
Eyewash
Dressings
Diarrhoea tablets
Rehydration sachets
Any extra medication you regularly take e.g. inhalers
Anti-repellent sprays
Bite cream
Miscellaneous
There’s always going to be a few random items you’ll need to include in your rucksack that you don’t want to be without. Here’s a few other things you may need to include:
Adaptors
Phone charger
Camera (and plenty of memory)
Torch
Book / e reader / tablet
Sunglasses
Hat
Travel towel – a microfibre one will dry quickly
Plastic bag to keep dirty clothes separate
Ear plugs and eye mask – you never know what sleeping conditions will be like
Money belt
Documents
There are a few essential documents you need to take with you and keep safe. It’s worth picking up a small plastic envelope wallet to keep these safe in, that way you know exactly where everything is rather than stuffed in random pockets or your rucksack.
Passport
A photocopy of your passport photo page and visa
Emergency contact and accommodation details
Health and travel insurance documents
Pen (essential for filling in essential arrivals immigration paperwork)
Money – remember to check the local currency and take a debit or travel money card as back up
Student ID
What NOT to Take
Tempting as it may be to take them, there are a few things you simply don’t need to take with you abroad. Try to keep your rucksack as light as possible and avoid over packing it with these items.
Brand new clothing or shoes – you may end up ruining items and you don’t want blisters either
Too many toiletries – you don’t need to volunteer in a full face of make-up or over pack on beauty items
Valuables – if you don’t want something to get damaged or lost then don’t bring them
Leaving for an adventure is an exciting time, but you don’t want to get too caught up that you end up missing out the essentials. Keep in mind our checklist and make a list before you begin to pack of everything you need.
Global Medical Projects offers the student on a distance education/blended learning course in pre-hospital emergency care, the opportunity to conduct practical learning in accordance with his/her course requirements.
The aim of this program is to accelerate practical learning. The mentored aspect provides teaching, guidance, support, evaluation and coordination to maximize time-effort and validation of clinical hours completed, allowing the student to complete his/her course in the shortest possible time without compromising standards.
Emergency Care Practicum Program overview:
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Course A
12 weeks/750 hours, mentored ambulance and emergency room rotational clinical placements, suitable for students of:
Ronin SA (Remote Medical Technician course)
Level 5 diploma in FREUC (UK)
IHCD Ambulance Technician (UK)
Course B
6 weeks/375 hours, max 8 weeks mentored ambulance and emergency room placements rotational clinical placements, suitable for students of:
HLT51015 Diploma of Paramedical Science (Ambulance)(Aus)
EMT-Paramedic (International) (+ 1 week)
Industry Paramedic (International) (+ 1 week)
Course C
4 weeks/168 hours, max 4 weeks, mentored ambulance and emergency room rotational clinical
placements, suitable for students or holders of:
Level 3 and 4 certificate in FREC (UK)
HLT41115 Certificate IV in Health Care (Aus)
EMT-Basic (International)
Ronin SA (Telemetric Medical Assistant course)
MIRA (UK)
FPOS-I (UK)
Pre university prospective paramedic students (International)
University paramedic students (International)
* Extensions to any course are available in weekly increments to the maximum stipulate attendance per course.
Program outcomes:
Verifiable mentored clinical placement hours in accordance with the individual student’s pathway of studies or requirements of their specific training organization.
logbooks verified by mentor and sanitized patient report forms available to the student to make his/her own copies.
The medical placements are quite diverse and can be tailored to your interests. As a third year Psychology student, Katie was primarily interested in psychology work experience.
I travelled to Kerala for 4 weeks with Global Medical Projects during the summer between my 3rd and 4th year of my Psychology with Human Health degree. I was really eager to obtain psychology related work experience, as it is difficult to do so in the UK. My sister had previously travelled to Beijing for a medical placement with Global Medical Projects and enjoyed herself so much that she was interested to do another placement with me. After speaking to Kevin, he was very encouraging that even though I was a psychologist there would still be an opportunity for me to gain experience.
Before I arrived in India, Babu the director who is based in Kerala had already received my CV and a list of departments that I was interested in gaining experience in. He contacted a psychiatrist and psychologist and organised all the initial arrangements for me. Once I started my placement, it was up to me to organise the rest of my placement. For three weeks, I spent my time shadowing in psychiatric wards in three different hospitals. My experience included shadowing psychiatrists during ward rounds for in-patients and consultations with out-patients. Further time was spent with the psychologist during counselling sessions. I also got the opportunity to watch Electro-Convulsive Therapy. For my last week, I organised to spend time shadowing on a Neurology ward during ward rounds and appointments or consultations. During my work experience I was very eager to watch brain surgery; however I was told this would be very difficult to organise. Nevertheless, I was surprised because all it took was for me to ask the surgeons myself and I was lucky enough to observe three operations, one brain and two spinal surgeries. So it is definitely worth asking if you are interested! It is your placement at the end of the day, so make sure you are happy and feel that you are getting the most out of the experience.
I made some great friends in the hospital and at the end of my stay myself and the other volunteers were invited to join the psychiatrist and psychologist and their families for dinner. This was a great experience and I was very grateful for everything they did for me during my stay. I was so happy with my overall work placement. I never expected to see as much as did, most of which I would not have been allowed to see in the UK due to still being a university student. Its great experience to fill out your CV with or talk about in an interview! My only concern when booking was how well English would be spoken in the hospitals, but I found that it was well spoken by the majority of people I shadowed. I felt the doctors took the time to translate and explain everything clearly to me; they made me feel very welcome. However, I would say that some staff were quite shy and lacked confidence when speaking in English in front of me.
During our time in Kerala, we made the most of our evenings and weekends with the other volunteers so I would recommend making the most of time away.
If you’re looking for amazing work experience abroad and want to make new friends and experience living in a completely different culture- then I would definitely recommend Global Medical Projects! I felt everything was very organised and Kevin was always reliable and very helpful when I had any questions.
Well done Katie! Katie’s feedback shows that we can often arrange placements in specific areas of medicine, or the subjects allied to medicine. If there’s an area of medicine you would like to experience, contact us to discuss your objectives further. If you would like to follow in Katie’s footsteps, read more about our our medical placements in India.
With many employers now looking to see what it is that makes you different from the numerous other job applications, volunteering can give your career prospects a boost.
From gaining practical hands-on experience to building professional relationships, volunteering goes beyond the realm of making us feel good inside to proving our worth when it comes to our careers.
To help you decide if a medical placement abroad is for you we’ve put together just how volunteering can help your career.
Career Exploration
How many of us have started a job before we realised that it’s actually very different from how it looks on paper? Far more people probably come to that realisation than they would care to admit out loud. Volunteering can help to give you chance a to ‘try on’ a particular role, before you take it up full time.
A job role on paper can be vastly different to what you’ll end up doing on a day to day basis, and the reality is often very different to our expectations. A volunteering placement can help to give you chance to see what a role will really be like in reality or whether that particular working environment or organisation is right for you.
New and Improved Skillset
Each new job or role develops our skills. Volunteering in a new environment also helps us to apply our current skills in different ways. Whether it’s the new skills you learn, or old skills which are put into practice in different ways, both of these can help to boost job applications.
Working in a different country exposes you to processes that are a lot different to what you’ve previously been used to. A new environment can also help us to adapt our existing skillset or knowledge base and perhaps learn a better or different way of doing something we hadn’t thought of before. Diversity is what makes us unique, and adding volunteering to your CV can help to make your career stand out.
Network Expansion
Many jobs these days are often about ‘who you know, not what you know’, and volunteering can help you to expand your network outside of your home country and across Europe, Asia and Africa, not to mention the connections you’ll make with those also on the trip.
You should never underestimate the value a network of likeminded professionals can bring to your career. Not only will you be able to learn vital skills and information from people you otherwise might not have met, you’ll hear about new job openings, and be able use those in charge of your placement as references on your CV.
Dedication to a Cause
Potential employers like to see dedication in job applications and there’s no better way to show that than through a volunteer placement. Volunteering can help to show that you’re willing to dedicate yourself and your time to a particular cause, which benefits someone other than yourself.
During your time on a placement you’ll be able to soak up every part of the working environment you’re in and immerse yourself in a culture which is often vastly different to what you’re used to. Volunteering tests what you know and pushes you to think outside the box, something which you often don’t get pushed to do once you’re in full time employment.
Builds your CV
Interviews are granted on what an A4 sheet of paper says about you, and with the job market as competitive as ever, you need to stand out from the crowd in order to get past the first round. Qualifications are important, not to mention essential, when it comes to gaining a job in the medical profession, but volunteering can also help to show how you’ve put your skills into action in the real world.
Many interviews are based on competency based questions, which means you’ll need to provide examples of when you’ve put a particular skill to use, or succeed at a particular situation. Volunteering can provide real world experience and give you the opportunity to draw on your experiences abroad.
New Cultures and Languages
Working in the medical sector you never know what kind of medical emergency or situation you’ll be presented with. Throw into the mix a new culture and language, and you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to think on your feet, overcome language barriers and be respectful to a new culture.
We live in an increasingly global world, where languages and cultures can blur into one, so learning from those abroad can help to improve your employment prospects greatly. Gaining an understanding outside of your comfort zone, and in a completely different environment can prove you’re willing to do something different in order to better your career.
The first step in your volunteering journey is to decide which project is for you, the next step is career domination.
My pre-university medical placement in India by Tish Jervis
Tish has very kindly sent us some extracts from her blog about her time with us in India. Tish is applying for graduate entry medicine and used her time with us in India to gain some valuable work experience.
April 25th: After a small delay at Heathrow Airport, my Jet Airways flight to Delhi took off with no problems. I managed to secure myself one of the emergency exits seats which is always a winner when your a 6ft giant and on an overnight flight. With a small bit of turbulence and 7 hours later we arrived in Delhi Airport where I had a 3 hour wait before my connecting flight to Trivandrum. I was absolutely starving at this point but with the shear fear of Delhi Belly and the only options for food being Yo China (interesting) and McDonalds, I settled for some crisps and India’s version of dairy milk (sadly no comparison to ours.) My next flight was a transit flight so went via Bangalore on its way to Trivandrum, where I finally arrived at 7pm on Thursday 21st April.
I was met by a very sweet young Indian man who drove me from the airport to the volunteer accommodation (45 minutes away.) Stepping out of the air conditioned airport into 38 degree heat and humidity was a bit of a shock, not the mention the exciting chaos, colour and smells that came with it. After nearly being knocked flat by an autorickshaw driver we headed for what would be my home for the next 4 weeks.
On arrival I was greeted by Babu (Head of the Global Volunteers Medical Project and Owner of the house) and Sudah (a very friendly lady who is Project Co-ordinator.) The house stood out from the surrounding greenery, due to its bright orange and pink colour. I was given a very warm and friendly welcome and then shown to my room before being cooked an Indian omelette for supper before heading to bed. Trying to sleep in 38 degrees with a fan blowing hot air isn’t easy and involves having at least 3 showers throughout the night.
The next day began with a coconut Idiyappam curry with rice which was delicious and a good way to get straight into the Indian culture. A tailor lady came to the house to take my measurements and we went shopping for fabric from which she kindly made me two typical Indian woman’s outfits to wear during my placements in the hospital. I spent the rest of the day checking out the local area, finishing with supper in the nearby Indian Coffee House.
On Saturday I drove with Babu to his doctors appointment in a primary care clinic in a hospital 1 hour away from the house (Nirmala Hospital.) I met Dr Sreejith who is a primary care doctor with a specialist interest in Paediatrics and Diabetes. I then spent the afternoon in the local beach resort where you can pay the equivalent of 10 pounds (1,000 rupees) to use the pool and other facilities and have a delicious buffet supper at the end of the day. I watched the sunset from the beach outside the resort and then headed home by autorickshaw after supper.
Sunday began with a trip to church with Sudah followed by a visit to the disabled girls orphanage and convent. This was a rather amazing experience and I felt very honoured to meet all of the girls who all had beautiful smiles. I will come back in the evenings during my placement to help them with physiotherapy, meal times and learning how to read and write in English. In the afternoon Babu, Sudah and I drove to Varkala Beach to watch the sunset and walk along the cliff tops. From here we met another doctor friend of Babu’s who is a Gynaecologist in Kerala and went for some puttu (steamed cylinders of rice, filled with spiced vegetables) for supper before heading home.
After a weekend of getting used to everything I will start my placement tomorrow morning!
May 2nd: I began my placement with 3 days at a Primary Care Hospital in Trivandrum. Nirmala Hospital is a privately run hospital that is made up of a clinic room, emergency room and a 10 bed admission ward. During my time here I shadowed a General Practitioner with a specialist interest in diabetes (Dr Sreejith.) Morning clinic here runs from 9-1pm with the main cases being seen involving infection, diabetes and allergy and asthma. It was quite notable how many of the population suffer from diabetes due to a diet rich in carbohydrate and sugar. I learnt alot about the healthcare system in India and the coexistence of government run and private/corporate hospitals. A visit to this private GP costs 130 rupees which is the equivalent of just over 1 pound. Patients then have to pay for any further investigations required and any medicines needed. Pharma companies visit daily to delivery physician samples of particular drugs that they are advertising. The clinicians keep these samples and give them to patients free of charge, for those who cannot afford prescription medications.
On my first day I learnt how to take blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope. I had practiced this once on a nurse before the doctor sent me into the next room and asked me to measure the blood pressure of every patient before they came to see him (in at the deep end, but I learnt quickly!) Tuesday followed a similar pattern, observing in the primary care clinic. Although very sadly an emergency case came in on Tuesday evening (16 yr old boy, drowning incident) and sadly he was unable to be resuscitated! The rip currents off the coast of India are particularly strong. On Wednesday, as well as attending the morning clinic, I was invited to Dr Sreejith’s house for a delicious chicken biryani before shadowing his specialist paediatric clinic in SK hospital. I met his lovely wife who is a dentist, his parents and his two little boys. They were all very welcoming and happy to see me. At the SK hospital most cases involved allergy, asthma, bronchitis, bacteria enteritis and chickenpox. I also got to briefly visit the labour ward and neonatal unit where I met a very tiny baby who had been born prematurely at 25 + 2 weeks. I then attended the evening clinic back at Nirmala Hospital (5-8pm.) I learnt a huge amount whilst shadowing Dr Sreejith and it was very clear that the health system out here is much more doctor led with less patient involvement in the plan of care as opposed to the system we have at home. It was also interesting to see how much of the consultation time was spent educating patients in regards to diet or inhaler therapy (most patients have a fear of inhalers for various reasons.)
I spent Thursday and Friday at St. John’s Medical College, Community Hospital. On Thursday I shadowed in the paediatric clinic from 9-1pm. Dr Preethi Menon (Consultant Paediatrician) taught me a large amount about observation in young children, respiratory distress and the main illnesses that she sees: allergy, abuse, croop, epilglottitis, fungal rash, asthma and infection. I observed a young boy with dysentry on the observation ward and visited an older boy who was suffering from a high grade fever amongst other things associated with dengue fever. On Friday I observed the haemodialysis unit, where patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) receive dialysis 2 times a week, with each session lasting 4 hours. The staff nurse on this unit were very friendly and explained to me exactly how the dialysis machines work and the causes of CKD and any complications of dialysis. Each dialysis session costs the patient 700 rupees which is the equivalent to 7 pounds. Many of the patients on this unit suffered from oedema and breathing difficulties due to fluid accumulation as a result of their disease. One of the gentlemen having his dialysis at the time was particularly friendly and kept calling me ‘giant princess.’ I decided to take that one as a compliment as he had managed to rectify his use of the masculine word giant, with a more feminine princess.
During the afternoons Babu, Sudah and I visited the Lake Palace Hotel for tea, cooked delicious curries at home, played cards with the little boy who lives next door and went shopping at the markets. I now know how to make a delicious vegetable and coconut curry so I will try my best to recreate this when I get home.
On Friday evening I went to Waters Edge Beach Resort of Samudra Beach, Kovalam. Here I spent the weekend in the sun, enjoying some fishing and swimming. I returned back home to the volunteer house on Sunday evening after a 2 hour rickshaw ride. I think it is fair to say that the 4 car wide overtake that they seem to have adopted quite readily out here on the roads is LETHAL. All I know is if I had taken my driving test in India I certainly would have passed first time, instead of fifth!
May 8th: Another week has flown by out here where I spent my time in St. John’s Community Hospital shadowing various specialties. On Monday I split my time between shadowing a GP and an ENT consultant. Cases seen in general practice included throat and chest infections, lower leg oedema and diabetic complications. Time in ENT was really interesting and I certainly learnt that small toddlers will find anything to put up their nose. In one morning the consultant removed 2 pearls, one ball of paper and a pea from various toddler’s noses. Aside from foreign objects stuck in orifices, other cases included otomycosis (fungal infection of the outer ear), thyroglossal cysts, surgery to repair the ripped earring hole of an elderly woman, tonsilitis, acute superior otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) and rhinitis (inflammation of the membrane inside the nose.) The ENT consultant spoke very good English and was able to explain a great deal to me, for which I was very grateful.
On Tuesday I visited the Leprosy Centre that is attached to St. Johns, where treated leprosy patients are offered physiotherapy and reconstructive surgery to help correct for hand and feet complications as a result of the nervous system involvement in leprosy. Here I spent time with the physiotherapist, meeting the patients staying in the centre and observing their physio sessions. When I arrived the physio had very kindly put together a powerpoint presentation in English for me that taught me about leprosy, its causes, its complications and its treatment. This was really interesting as it is not a disease regularly seen in the UK. The majority of the patients staying in the centre are there for care of their ulcers that usually develop due to loss of sensation in various parts of the body, leading to the inability to feel heat or pain. This can often result in ulcers, that if left untreated can reach as deep as the bone, causing further complications. Here in India they treat ulcers using SSOD: soaking, scrubbing, oiling and dressing. This reduces infection and leads to ulcer healing. Other common complications seen were foot drops and claw hands which are caused by the leprosy bacteria damaging the nervous system. It was very exciting watching a leprosy patient learn to weight bear and eventually take a few steps after foot surgery. Due to the stigma that exists in the community in regards to leprosy, the opportunity for reconstructive surgery (paid for by the government) is rather wonderful for these patients who face a lot of exclusion in their daily lives. I saw some amazing videos of some patients before and after surgery, and the real difference that it makes. The prevalence of leprosy in India used to be 60 per 10,000 but since the introduction of the Leprosy Elimination Action Programme this has dropped to <1 care per 10,000.
On Wednesday we drove to collect a dialysis patient from their home and took them to hospital for their treatment. I then spent the rest of the day helping on the dialysis unit. The patient that we collected suffers a lot financially and as a result, after his next 10 sessions of dialysis (currently covered by a government scheme) he will be able to pay for 2 sessions out of his own money before he and his family will not be able to afford his treatment anymore. Through a very kind donation from a colleague at Great Ormond Street we hope to try and help him and his family pay for his treatment for a little longer. We had visited him and his family at their home on Tuesday afternoon to talk to them about their situation and his illnesses. It is very sad quite how many people in India either don’t seek medical assistance in the first place or can’t complete their treatment due to financial problems. In the afternoon I visited the Cancer and Palliative Care Centre which was very moving. The most common type of cancer in Kerala seems to be leukaemia which they find very difficult to treat. I met 3 cancer patients and their families, one patient who had fallen from a tree and suffered lower body paralysis due to spinal cord damage and one patient suffering from whole body stiffness due to late stage Parkinson’s. This centre is very impressive and professionally run to ensure that all patients have a painless and peaceful end of life. The nuns regularly visit the patients and their families on this ward and there is a very beautiful chapel in the centre. On Friday I split my time between a GP with a specialist interest in palliative care and ENT.
In the evenings we visited Attingal market, tried many Indian baked treats, played cards with Kannan (who lives next door), visited patients in their homes and went to Saigramam. Saigramam is a non profit organisation that is rather beautiful and includes an orphanage, an old people’s home, some amazing temples, an art village and a cow farm. We walked around the grounds and visited the children in the orphanage and the old people’s home. I met a little boy called Sadheesh who is 5 years old and who’s parents had both sadly died in an accident. He was definitely King of the Orphanage and had the worlds biggest smile. A lot of the children here do still have parents but they can’t afford to look after them. This means that every once in a while they do go home for a visit which is nice.
Babu (Project Co-ordinator) left for the UK on Monday to see his family so I am now being very well looked after by Sudha (Project Mediator) and Deepak a nursing student who is currently sitting his entrance exams for medical school which seem to be very tough out here. I have also spent a lot of time with some of Deepak and Sudha’s friends, mainly Dipin and his wife Rumie who are both very lovely. I am very excited to meet their 2 year old daughter this week.
After a relaxing weekend on the beach, it is back to work again tomorrow. The focus for this week is gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics. My dream!
May 15: This was my favourite week so far. I think this was mainly because I was placed in Anchal Hospital for Mother and Child which is heaven when you are as obsessed with small babies as I am. On this route from home to work I saw a fair few elephant commutes, which definitely beats the London tube anyday of the week!
On Monday morning I was placed in the outpatient department with a female Gynaecologist. In India the majority of gynaecologists are in fact female, whilst in the UK the majority are male. I began the morning in theatre watching Postpartum Sterilisation of a women who had given birth to her second child 3 days before and did not want anymore children. This was a very interesting operation to watch and it was rather insightful being exposed to surgery and the workings of the theatres in a country so different to our own. Once the operation was over and the patient had come round her 3 day old baby came for a feed and I got to hold him afterwards which made my day! In the afternoon I shadowed a consultant paediatrician who spoke brilliant English and explained each case to me in great detail. The main illnesses seen here were fever, abdominal pain, constipation, loose bowels, allergy and asthma, skin rashes, dengue, mumps, abscesses and the added extra of ear piercing. I helped hold down a little 4 year old boy on the emergency ward whilst they cut open and drained an abscess that he had on his hair line (poor little thing!) Following this I did the ward round with the paediatrician where I met a newborn baby with jaundice who was receiving phototherapy and a number of children with high grade fevers. I stayed with the gynaecologist and paediatrician for the rest of the week and also spent some time with the nurses on the wards.
Tuesday’s gynaecology experience brought a lot of ultrasound scans, cases of gestational diabetes, down syndrome tests using ultrasound (by measuring the nuchal translucency and development of the nasal bridge), UTIs, gestational nausea and the removal of fibroids. In India they usually do a pregnancy scan at 6-7 weeks (to see intrauterine growth), 11-12 weeks (to check development of the nasal bridge), 20 weeks (to check foetal growth), 36 weeks (to monitor placenta function.) In India foetal sex determination is illegal so every baby is a surprise sex wise which is quite exciting. In the afternoon the paediatric outpatients was very quiet so I spent my time on the wards with the nurses. One particular nurse called Sumi was lovely and asked me to teach her some English words as we went around. On the ward I saw abdominal burns, jaundice babies, IV cannulation, upper respiratory infections and a lot of children with fevers. At about 3 pm one of the water pipes in one of the patient’s bedrooms burst and water was quite literally pouring everywhere with the whole first floor flooded within minutes. Patients were being treated in the corridors and the lift as the water could not be stopped!!
Wednesday involved hypertensive patients, menorrhagia and ultrasounds in the gynaecology department. We discussed the risks of overweight and underweight mothers to both the mother and child during pregnancy. It was concluded that underweight mothers have a better prognosis due to the complications such as hypertension, thrombosis risk and gestational diabetes associated with overweight mothers. I then spent a bit of time in the casualty department with nurses Bincy and Sumi. It was very quiet and involved a few patients coming for injections for gastritis and insulin injections for diabetes. I then went up to the second floor to meet a baby who had been born the previous day. He was so tiny and the family asked me to hold him as they believe that a westerner holding their baby is a blessing (I certainly wasn’t complaining.) The paediatric department was very busy with a lot of children with fevers (common at this time of year), vaccinations, URTIs, nebulisation, mumps, dengue fever and very sadly the diagnosis of quite late stage meningitis in a very young little girl. I learnt a few Malayalam words (the language spoken in this state of Kerala): vedana (pain), dhala (head), mookk (nose), pani (fever) and chood (hot)-the spellings may not be quite right! At the end of the day I watched my first ever circumcision of an 8 year old boy under local anaesthetic (ouch!) In India boys usually have this done from birth to 4 years old.
Thursday was a very exciting day as I got to see my first delivery out here. I had spent the morning with the gynaecologist seeing patients for scans, incontinence, dysuria, infertility and polycystic ovaries. I had just begun with the paediatrician when I was called to the labour room. The patient had been in labour since 6 am and she was 2 hours away from having to have an emergency caesarean but luckily the baby decided it was time. Here they give prostaglandins to make the cervix soft and oxytocin to stimulate contractions. Two nurses were pushing on her tummy whilst the gynaecologist was helping the baby at the other end. I was far too close to all the action when the waters broke and was covered from head to toe but it was an amazing thing to see. It was very professional having the gynaecologist for the delivery and the paediatrician to examine the baby the second it arrives! Husbands and family are not allowed in the delivery room during the births.
On Friday we visited the Bethania Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled in Kumarapuram. This centre is run by Bethany Convent Sisters of Immaculate Christ. It is home to 70 girls from the age of 12-50 years old. The centre provides living and rehabilitation facilities with different sessions run daily for the girls. I was lucky enough to see an english lesson, a type writing class, paper card making, tailoring and sewing, computer writing, handwriting and to visit the book printing and binding press attached to the centre. The girls were lovely and introduced themselves and the town in which they lived. One girl did the most beautiful dance whilst another sang a song for me. During the typewriting, computer writing and handwriting lessons they were copying from english text about pollution which was very impressive. This centre is free of charge and is a rather amazing facility for these girls to learn different skills and rehabilitate. We then went into Trivandrum to purchase a wheelchair that we are donating to a dialysis patient who struggles financially and who can very sadly no longer walk very far. After this we visited Pallium India which is a hospital for pain management and palliative care where I will be placed for a few days next week. It focuses on ‘care beyond cure’ and has a lot of patients suffering from spinal cord injury. Next week I will visit the clinical hospital and go on home visits with the community palliative care team.
In the evenings I planned for the rest of my time out here with Emily and Lottie, was thrashed again and again by Kannan at chess and got to meet Dipin and Rumie’s beautiful little daughter Anna!
Beach for the weekend which was very stormy with some seriously impressive lightning. Tomorrow is election day in Kerala which they have been counting down to and campaigning for for a while now. It is the election for the fourteenth legislative assembly to elect representatives of the 140 constituencies in Kerala.
May 20: My final week began with election day in Kerala which was extremely full on but very cool to experience. All the campaigning before and the celebrations afterwards were a lot of fun! As a result of such celebrations all roads are a nightmare so we spent the day watching it all from the balcony and eating delicious pancakes with maple syrup. In the evening we got a rickshaw to see a dialysis patient Sudhkaran and deliver him his wheelchair. He was so happy to receive this as this means that his wife can now take him to hospital for his treatment by wheelchair and bus instead of on the back of a motorway (which is risky business in Kerala.) Unfortunately he lost the use of his face muscles after his first stroke so in the photos below he may not look very smiley but he loved it and wanted to get in it straight away!
Tuesday and Wednesday I spent at Pallium India Hospital for palliative care (care beyond cure.) This hospital deals with lifelong illnesses, pain management and palliative care. I spent Tuesday at the hospital shadowing doctors and nurses and on Wednesday I went with the team on the home care visits. Whilst on the in patient ward I saw a patient with a giant cell tumour in her left ileum, a women with a neck ulcer that had become infected with maggots (that morning the nurse had removed 100 maggots from her neck!) and an elderly man with cancer of the oropharynx. This inpatient ward can accommodate up to 15 patients but on this day it was relatively quiet. I learnt a lot on the ward rounds with the doctors, especially about the different types of pain management used and the side effects that different patients experience. The most common being delirium following the administration of morphine. Most patients are discharged back home once their pain is under control unless they have chosen to stay until their last few days, in which case these days are made as peaceful as possible. The hospital also runs a rehabilitation program for people with paralysis. This is a collaborative project of Pallium India with the Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala. The centre can accommodate up to 4 patients at once and each patient usually comes for 45-50 days of rehabilitation. Whilst I was visiting there was a young boy with hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body), a lady with a demyelinating disease and as a result had paraplegia and 2 young men also with paraplegia. The young boy spoke very good English and was an extremely talented little artist. He showed me all of his watercolour paintings with his masterpiece being an A3 Ferrari which was very cool. I spent a lot of time speaking to the social workers during lunch. One spoke very good English and is off to New Zealand next month which is very exciting for him as it will be the first time that he has left India. I met the chairman of the hospital who was a very lovely man and who spoke to me about medicine for a while. Wednesday’s home care visits begun at 8.30 am and included 7 different patients, finishing at 4 pm. The home care team involved 1 doctor, 1 nurse, 3 volunteers, me and a driver. All patients visited were either bed ridden or couldn’t access a hospital due to the remoteness of their house. The cases seen included oral cancer, lung cancer, hemiplegia, obstructive hydrocephalus, uncontrolled diabetes and geriatric patients. The doctor and nurse checked the patient’s vitals (pulse, blood pressure and chest) and replenished any regular medicines that the patients required. I got to perform my first chest auscultation on a patient and his wife gave me one of her jungle pineapples to say thank you which was very sweet. A lot of the patients lived up in Kerala’s jungle meaning that to get to them we had to park the mini bus and walk through the jungle, dodging falling coconuts from the trees above and crossing a few rivers. At one point a fast moving snake came straight across the path in front of me (you can see from the photo below that I wasn’t best pleased!) The patients seen all lived in stone huts with tarpaulin or tin roofs with minimal electricity supplies. On the trees surrounding their houses they engraved water run-off paths ending in coconuts to collect the rain water which is very clever! It was rather amazing being able to see these home visits and make comparisons to the ones that I have experienced in the UK in general practice (they certainly didn’t involve any jungle hikes or snakes!)
Thursday and Friday were spent saying goodbye to all the patients and doctors and nurses that had so kindly looked after me for the last 4 weeks. I delivered the donations that I have kindly received from a number of you which allowed us to sponsor the two dialysis patients who are struggling financially for 30 more sessions of dialysis, buy Sudhkaran his wheelchair, help Babu (who makes the delicious food at home) afford an operation he needs on his leg and supply the Beth Sadia Disabled Orphanage with some support for food, medicines and rehabilitation aids. On Friday I visited Beth Sadia Disabled Orphanage for the last time. I was welcomed by the two sisters with a delicious lunch that allowed me to try some new Keralan dishes. I then spent the next few hours with the girls in the orphanage practicing their handwriting, singing and playing musical statues. They were a big fan of ‘Barbie Girl’ and one girl knew all of the words and told me to perform it with her. Of course she was designated the role of Barbie and I was Ken!! Some of the girls then did individual performances which were all amazing and they gave me some of their flowers that they had been making that morning when I left. I’ve never seen a bunch of girls with such big smiles! They asked me to come back when I was a real doctor and live with them. In a few years time that is where you may find me.
Thank you to Babu I, Sudha, Deepak, Babu II and everyone else out here who has made my last month such an amazing experience. Tomorrow I meet up with the girls to see the rest of India. Wifi may be minimal so for now this may be it on the blog front. Until next time Kerala!
On the first day, after 16 hours of grueling travelling through three countries, I arrived at Kilimanjaro airport, in dire need of the weekend to recover. However, a fellow volunteer had other ideas, and I ended up at Arusha National Park the following day, a thoroughly enjoyable trip, even if I was asleep for half of it! After being collected from the airport by Charles, a local taxi driver who we would see many more times around Usa River throughout our trip, we made our way to the Mgonja household in Usa River. We were met there by two of the loveliest people I have had the fortune to meet- Zablon and Pretty. Pretty was pregnant while I was visiting, and I hope to go back soon to meet the latest member of the family! Throughout the first weekend, I noticed the stark contrasts between daily life in a country such as this and what I was used to back in the UK. However, the close knit community feeling was apparent from the beginning; from the way everyone greeted each other as they passed, to how well Zablon and Pretty knew their neighbours from all over Usa River!
Viewing major surgery was another major highlight for me; seeing my first caesarian section was exhilarating, the baby’s first cries were wonderful to hear, as a new life was brought into the world. Again, differences between here and the UK were on show, with some aspects such as equipment and drugs used completely different to those used in the UK. For instance, I was initially surprised to see ketamine used as a local anesthetic, but was quickly informed that the one in use here was the non-recreational type. I also saw a vaginal cyst removal during my time in Major ops, and was impressed with the speed and precision with which the doctors completed the procedure.
In addition to the hospital, I visited a local orphanage in the afternoons, which offered a different experience entirely. Cradle of Love, an orphanage halfway between the hospital and Usa River, was fairly well funded, with good facilities and plenty of staff and volunteers, which surprised me initially, as I was expecting a far more degraded infrastructure. After visiting a far less privileged orphanage later on the trip, I realised that the children at Cradle were lucky to be here, but no less deprived of the most innate human craving- attention and care. Over the next three weeks, I cared for children from babies to around age 3, playing with them and assisting feeding. I had worked with children before in the UK, but not this young, and was surprised in many ways. The children were split into four groups depending on walking ability (and age): babies, crawlers, wobblers, and toddlers. I spent most time with the wobblers and toddlers, as I enjoyed the more hands on and busier style with the older kids. Full of energy and very clingy as children of that age are, I proceeded to build such strong relationships with some kids that I didn’t want to leave at the end of each day! I can honestly say that there are not many better feelings than giving attention to children that are so obviously deprived of care, and not many worse feelings than leaving at the end! Unfortunately, some of the kids weren’t used to men at all, and proceeded to cry whenever I went near them, which was the opposite of what I intended! Ultimately, although I know the kids won’t remember me, I will always treasure the time I had with them, as they brought out my inner child, and made me realise how lucky I am to have parents.
On another note, before I began to research Tanzania as a country, I didn’t realise how rich it is- not in monetary terms, but in culture, in natural wonders, and in surprises. Unfortunately, I could not visit the Serengeti, or climb Kilimanjaro, or stay on Zanzibar, but I plan to do all these things when I go back, as I have heard amazing things about them. In fact, I wouldn’t have been able to do all those things in the time that I had even if I tried! Instead, I went on safari to Tarangire and Ngorogoro National Parks, and can honestly say it was unbelievable. The pictures don’t do it justice; you must visit yourself!
My name is Chris and I spent one month volunteering on a medical project elective in the village of Meru,Tanzania. During my time in Africa, I worked in many different departments at Meru District Hospital, but I enjoyed my experiences in the ER and major surgery theater the most. Meru District Hospital was situated near the heart of third world Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, an area impoverished with limited resources in many aspects of health care, whether it be the medicine distributed, sterilization supplies, or the way the public was educated on healthcare. In an area where health insurance didn’t exist, people of all shapes and sizes would crowd the emergency room daily with many different health concerns. It was during this month I learned exactly what it would take to work as a medical doctor in an area of unwarranted variation.
As my first week at the hospital began, I was introduced to the Dala Dala, a public transport van that would travel from village to village to take me to work. At the hospital, I was greeted by the hospital matron and after reviewing my resume, the matron requested I deliver a presentation on immunology to the entire hospital. Before the matron gave me permission to begin my work, she showed me every department within the hospital. As we walked along the district hospital I saw how every department resembled a piece of a puzzle; it was like the hospital was a village in itself. Some of the departments included pediatrics, major and minor surgery (ER), female and male ward, AIDS ward, and even a TB ward. The matron permitted access to every department, but because of my passion to become a surgeon, I immediately dove right into work at the ER department. When I began my work, the staff treated me very much like a medical student; the nurses and doctors were so
As my time in Africa grew, I was finding myself more and more involved in the ER and surgery department, so much that even ethical issues in medicine were starting to surface amidst my experiences. One of the most startling issues was that many of my patients were young females who had given themselves abortions. Because abortions were illegal in Tanzania, young women would often damage their bodies by giving themselves an abortion; it was my duty to make sure to clean out the reproductive tract and make sure the woman would not have any further health issues down the road. These kind of situations made me aware of how politics and social situations can influence certain factors in healthcare and it made me understand how my only view was simply to help a person in any way that I could. My time in the ER helped me deal with injections, POP casts from broken limbs, auscultations, catheters, stabbings and wound cleaning, seizures, gunshots, and even motor vehicle accidents. I was getting so involved and with the amount of trust and responsibility that was bestowed upon me, it just felt right to keep going. Sometimes I would clean out an infection, whether on an infant or an elderly man, I knew how bad it would hurt to make that incision to flush out the abscess, so I would sometimes just let the patient hold onto me and squeeze my arm whenever it would hurt them just so I could hurt a little bit too and feel their pain. In my mind It was all definitely a case of learning fast, being confident, and embracing any challenge with a grain of salt, but I wanted all of that so bad…I wanted to keep learning; It was like I had something to prove. The ER shaped me the most out of all the departments, but it was being able to assist with both suturing during a cesarean and hernia surgery in the major surgery department that really made my experiences most memorable.
Easily the best thing about working at the Meru District Hospital came in my last week of work. Of all the time I spent working, I felt the most experienced in my last week, and as a result the matron and staff allowed me to do rounds in the male and female ward. I would show up to work and begin my rounds around 8am and would finish up by 11am. Some of my cases included stroke, malaria, and AIDS patients. I remember sometimes being amazed at how different such cases were than the standard patient one might see at a hospital back in the US. I took each patient as a lesson, spending time with them, analyzing their treatment regimen, and making sure their condition was on its way to being stable. I must have looked like such an alien to some of those people, but that never stopped me from giving them my best care. My most memorable moment though was when I had the opportunity to deliver a baby in the female ward. It was perhaps the most exhilarating moment in my life, being able to take charge in such a situation. It felt completely natural. I look back on my achievements and realize that I would not have been able to do some of these things in the US. These are some of the moments that I will remember for a long, long time.
On my last day at the hospital, the entire hospital staff showed up to listen to my presentation. During my placement I truly felt that infectious diseases and unwarranted variation prohibited many of the people from being healthy, so I decided to base my presentation on the basics of innate and acquired immunity.The entire presentation lasted about 45 minutes, followed by a series of questions asked by several staff members. Near the end of my presentation, some of the doctors and head staff members made me feel humbled by acknowledging all the work I did in the last month at their hospital. As I write this 3 months since I returned from my trip, some of the faces still stick with me. These people really gave up their time to teach a stranger. Of all the feelings I felt during this trip, I realized that there really are a lot of good people in the world, you just have to carry an open heart. I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.
Even though the application process and the gruelling flight hours may have seemed like a challenge at first, going through this experience with Global Medical Projects helped me to meet some really amazing people that I consider a part of my family now. When you share the same meals, experiences, and a roof under your head with people who are there to take care of you, you establish this connection that can truly last a lifetime if you let it. At first I was a bit concerned being the only volunteer to stay with my host family, but both were fantastic in meeting any of my needs/requests, including picking me up from the airport, assisting me with my bus fare to work when I needed it, and even helping me plan an excursion to the island of Zanzibar for a weekend trip. Perhaps the thing I valued the most that they showed me was an orphanage down the road from where I was staying called “Good Hope.” After visiting the orphanage 2 weeks into my stay, I told myself that I would visit the kids everyday after work no matter what. Seeing those smiling faces really made the trip worth it, and because of the orphanage I made a promise to myself that I would go back to Usa River once my journey to becoming a doctor is complete.
I assume you can organize your own placement directly with Meru hospital if you wanted to, but I would strongly recommend going through a company such as Global Medical Projects the first time around, as this provides you with the safety and security which, in my opinion, truly matters when you may seem like a complete stranger to the country and it is easy to stand out. I am truly grateful for all that the staff at Meru District Hospital went through to teach me how to be a better medical professional and I am forever humbled to be so warmly welcomed by the entire village of Usa River during my placement. When I arrived to Usa River, I remember going to the village church on my second day and feeling like a stranger completely lost in the culture, but as I think back on my journey, I think of Usa River and Tanzania on a whole as a hidden place, tucked safely away from the world, concealed by the high walls of the Meru and Kilimanjaro mountains. It all almost felt like being in a place rich with strange beauty, like being in a dream. I would like to further extend a thank you to my family and friends for supporting me through my journey, the staff at the Commonwealth Medical College for inspiring me to strive past any limit, and to Kevin Dynan of Global Medical Projects for helping me through the entire application process. All of these amazing people have helped me grow in ways unimaginable, but my warmest gratitude goes out to the Mgonja family in Usa River, Zablon and Pretty – for teaching me that you don’t have to be blood related to be a part of a family, I promise to hold onto that bond no matter where my experiences may take me.
After being picked up that evening by Alberto, one of the volunteer coordinators for Global Medical Projects (and yes, he spoke English very well), I was taken to my “families” house. Prior to arrival, I knew I was going to be assigned to live with a family in Guadalajara and that the family would be providing me with 3 meals a day as well as a clean, safe living quarters. The coordination with getting to Mexico was effortless. Kevin, the program director based out of the United Kingdom, was very quick at responding to calls/emails and kept me informed with any changes in living arrangements, assignments, and with answering any questions/concerns that I had.
I spent a bulk of my three weeks in the hospital.The hospital experience was perfect. As volunteers, we took the bus and train to the hospital every morning around 7 am. We were “on-duty” from 8 am to 2pm. I was able to assist and perform many procedures (under the guidance of one of the physicians) that are not normally in the scope of practice for a paramedic in the states. Some of the most memorable things that I was able to do included removing and doing stitches, directly assisting in the operating room, helping put casts on patients, assisting with cleaning and wrapping wounds, starting IV’s/setting up drips of medications, assisting during cardiac arrest, and etc. The list could go on. Some interesting cases that I saw included: multiple cardiac arrests, a scorpion sting on a little girl, a traumatic femur fracture, a man stung by hundreds of bees, and a man who went into anaphylaxis due to eating a duck egg.
In the emergency room, as a volunteer if you simply asked, you could learn and assist with almost anything under the guidance of the doctors. They truly wanted us to learn and help as much as possible. Not only was I able to pick their brains about medical procedures, but I was able to understand how their health care system worked. By the end of our trip, the doctors and nurses became close friends to us. We often went out in the evenings together and they truly made us feel like we were part of the hospital family.
As a volunteer, I rode third person in the back of the ambulance’s captain chair. (Let’s just put it this way: you definitely had to buckle in and hold on when they were driving emergency traffic or you risked flying out of your chair!). The director of EMS made sure that we stayed with the same paramedics during our time volunteering. My two paramedics were no different than the hospital staff in the respect that they wanted me to be at home. Between calls, they would often sneak me away to see something “cool” or to eat a traditional meal that I was “required to eat” before leaving Mexico. They made sure I got the true Mexican experience. In the field, similar to the hospital, the paramedics let me function as a paramedic. I noticed in the homes that the residents of the city were extremely respectful and thankful for the paramedics. It was a wonderful experience to see and the respectfulness truly reflected the “Mexican way of life” (as they would often tell me about).
When we weren’t working in the hospital and on the ambulances, we were able to venture around the city of Guadalajara and surrounding cities. The evenings were often full of fun adventures to shop, eat, drink, and enjoy the Latin culture. The weekends were especially exciting because we elected not to work on the weekends (although you could if you wanted or needed to). As a group, we picked places we wanted to go see and would travel to them via Uber or the bus. One weekend, we took a bus to Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta was a neighboring beach city about 4 hours away. We were able to book an “Air B n B” hotel room for extremely cheap to stay right on the beach. Another weekend, we got rained into a “fiesta” in a nearby city and enjoyed some local drinks and festivities- not so bad to be rained in with good food and company!
After my three weeks were up, I found it difficult to leave. The culture was incredibly inviting, I felt part of the hospital and EMS staff, and I had made wonderful friends. I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity I get to go back. Thank you Global Medical Projects for providing a safe, fun, and invaluable learning experience that was, and is, an experience of a lifetime!”
I travelled to Kerala for 4 weeks with Global Medical Projects during the summer between my 3rd and 4th year of my Psychology with Human Health degree. I was really eager to obtain psychology related work experience, as it is difficult to do so in the UK. My sister had previously travelled to Beijing for a medical placement with Global Medical Projects and enjoyed herself so much that she was interested to do another placement with me. After speaking to Kevin, he was very encouraging that even though I was a psychologist there would still be an opportunity for me to gain experience.
Before I arrived in India, Babu the director who is based in Kerala had already received my CV and a list of departments that I was interested in gaining experience in. He contacted a psychiatrist and psychologist and organised all the initial arrangements for me. Once I started my placement, it was up to me to organise the rest of my placement. For three weeks, I spent my time shadowing in psychiatric wards in three different hospitals. My experience included shadowing psychiatrists during ward rounds for in-patients and consultations with out-patients. Further time was spent with the psychologist during counselling sessions. I also got the opportunity to watch Electro-Convulsive Therapy. For my last week, I organised to spend time shadowing on a Neurology ward during ward rounds and appointments or consultations. During my work experience I was very eager to watch brain surgery; however I was told this would be very difficult to organise. Nevertheless, I was surprised because all it took was for me to ask the surgeons myself and I was lucky enough to observe three operations, one brain and two spinal surgeries. So it is definitely worth asking if you are interested! It is your placement at the end of the day, so make sure you are happy and feel that you are getting the most out of the experience.
I made some great friends in the hospital and at the end of my stay myself and the other volunteers were invited to join the psychiatrist and psychologist and their families for dinner. This was a great experience and I was very grateful for everything they did for me during my stay. I was so happy with my overall work placement. I never expected to see as much as did, most of which I would not have been allowed to see in the UK due to still being a university student. Its great experience to fill out your CV with or talk about in an interview! My only concern when booking was how well English would be spoken in the hospitals, but I found that it was well spoken by the majority of people I shadowed. I felt the doctors took the time to translate and explain everything clearly to me; they made me feel very welcome. However, I would say that some staff were quite shy and lacked confidence when speaking in English in front of me.
With many employers now looking to see what it is that makes you different from the numerous other job applications, volunteering can give your career prospects a boost.
How many of us have started a job before we realised that it’s actually very different from how it looks on paper? Far more people probably come to that realisation than they would care to admit out loud. Volunteering can help to give you chance a to ‘try on’ a particular role, before you take it up full time.
Each new job or role develops our skills. Volunteering in a new environment also helps us to apply our current skills in different ways. Whether it’s the new skills you learn, or old skills which are put into practice in different ways, both of these can help to boost job applications.
Many jobs these days are often about ‘who you know, not what you know’, and volunteering can help you to expand your network outside of your home country and across Europe, Asia and Africa, not to mention the connections you’ll make with those also on the trip.
Potential employers like to see dedication in job applications and there’s no better way to show that than through a volunteer placement. Volunteering can help to show that you’re willing to dedicate yourself and your time to a particular cause, which benefits someone other than yourself.
Interviews are granted on what an A4 sheet of paper says about you, and with the job market as competitive as ever, you need to stand out from the crowd in order to get past the first round. Qualifications are important, not to mention essential, when it comes to gaining a job in the medical profession, but volunteering can also help to show how you’ve put your skills into action in the real world.
Working in the medical sector you never know what kind of medical emergency or situation you’ll be presented with. Throw into the mix a new culture and language, and you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to think on your feet, overcome language barriers and be respectful to a new culture.
On arrival I was greeted by Babu (Head of the Global Volunteers Medical Project and Owner of the house) and Sudah (a very friendly lady who is Project Co-ordinator.) The house stood out from the surrounding greenery, due to its bright orange and pink colour. I was given a very warm and friendly welcome and then shown to my room before being cooked an Indian omelette for supper before heading to bed. Trying to sleep in 38 degrees with a fan blowing hot air isn’t easy and involves having at least 3 showers throughout the night.
On my first day I learnt how to take blood pressure using a 
On Friday evening I went to Waters Edge Beach Resort of Samudra Beach, Kovalam. Here I spent the weekend in the sun, enjoying some fishing and swimming. I returned back home to the volunteer house on Sunday evening after a 2 hour rickshaw ride. I think it is fair to say that the 4 car wide overtake that they seem to have adopted quite readily out here on the roads is LETHAL. All I know is if I had taken my driving test in India I certainly would have passed first time, instead of fifth!
May 8th: Another week has flown by out here where I spent my time in St. John’s Community Hospital shadowing various specialties. On Monday I split my time between shadowing a GP and an ENT consultant. Cases seen in general practice included throat and chest infections, lower leg oedema and diabetic complications. Time in ENT was really interesting and I certainly learnt that small toddlers will find anything to put up their nose. In one morning the consultant removed 2 pearls, one ball of paper and a pea from various toddler’s noses. Aside from foreign objects stuck in orifices, other cases included otomycosis (fungal infection of the outer ear), thyroglossal cysts, surgery to repair the ripped earring hole of an elderly woman, tonsilitis, acute superior otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) and rhinitis (inflammation of the membrane inside the nose.) The ENT consultant spoke very good English and was able to explain a great deal to me, for which I was very grateful.
May 15: This was my favourite week so far. I think this was mainly because I was placed in Anchal Hospital for Mother and Child which is heaven when you are as obsessed with small babies as I am. On this route from home to work I saw a fair few elephant commutes, which definitely beats the London tube anyday of the week!
On Friday we visited the Bethania Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled in Kumarapuram. This centre is run by Bethany Convent Sisters of Immaculate Christ. It is home to 70 girls from the age of 12-50 years old. The centre provides living and rehabilitation facilities with different sessions run daily for the girls. I was lucky enough to see an english lesson, a type writing class, paper card making, tailoring and sewing, computer writing, handwriting and to visit the book printing and binding press attached to the centre. The girls were lovely and introduced themselves and the town in which they lived. One girl did the most beautiful dance whilst another sang a song for me. During the typewriting, computer writing and handwriting lessons they were copying from english text about pollution which was very impressive. This centre is free of charge and is a rather amazing facility for these girls to learn different skills and rehabilitate. We then went into Trivandrum to purchase a wheelchair that we are donating to a dialysis patient who struggles financially and who can very sadly no longer walk very far. After this we visited Pallium India which is a hospital for pain management and palliative care where I will be placed for a few days next week. It focuses on ‘care beyond cure’ and has a lot of patients suffering from spinal cord injury. Next week I will visit the clinical hospital and go on home visits with the community palliative care team.
Tuesday and Wednesday I spent at Pallium India Hospital for palliative care (care beyond cure.) This hospital deals with lifelong illnesses, pain management and palliative care. I spent Tuesday at the hospital shadowing doctors and nurses and on Wednesday I went with the team on the home care visits. Whilst on the in patient ward I saw a patient with a giant cell tumour in her left ileum, a women with a neck ulcer that had become infected with maggots (that morning the nurse had removed 100 maggots from her neck!) and an elderly man with cancer of the oropharynx. This inpatient ward can accommodate up to 15 patients but on this day it was relatively quiet. I learnt a lot on the ward rounds with the doctors, especially about the different types of pain management used and the side effects that different patients experience. The most common being delirium following the administration of morphine. Most patients are discharged back home once their pain is under control unless they have chosen to stay until their last few days, in which case these days are made as peaceful as possible. The hospital also runs a rehabilitation program for people with paralysis. This is a collaborative project of Pallium India with the Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala. The centre can accommodate up to 4 patients at once and each patient usually comes for 45-50 days of rehabilitation. Whilst I was visiting there was a young boy with hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body), a lady with a demyelinating disease and as a result had paraplegia and 2 young men also with paraplegia. The young boy spoke very good English and was an extremely talented little artist. He showed me all of his watercolour paintings with his masterpiece being an A3 Ferrari which was very cool. I spent a lot of time speaking to the social workers during lunch. One spoke very good English and is off to New Zealand next month which is very exciting for him as it will be the first time that he has left India. I met the chairman of the hospital who was a very lovely man and who spoke to me about medicine for a while. Wednesday’s home care visits begun at 8.30 am and included 7 different patients, finishing at 4 pm. The home care team involved 1 doctor, 1 nurse, 3 volunteers, me and a driver. All patients visited were either bed ridden or couldn’t access a hospital due to the remoteness of their house. The cases seen included oral cancer, lung cancer, hemiplegia, obstructive hydrocephalus, uncontrolled diabetes and geriatric patients. The doctor and nurse checked the patient’s vitals (pulse, blood pressure and chest) and replenished any regular medicines that the patients required. I got to perform my first chest auscultation on a patient and his wife gave me one of her jungle pineapples to say thank you which was very sweet. A lot of the patients lived up in Kerala’s jungle meaning that to get to them we had to park the mini bus and walk through the jungle, dodging falling coconuts from the trees above and crossing a few rivers. At one point a fast moving snake came straight across the path in front of me (you can see from the photo below that I wasn’t best pleased!) The patients seen all lived in stone huts with tarpaulin or tin roofs with minimal electricity supplies. On the trees surrounding their houses they engraved water run-off paths ending in coconuts to collect the rain water which is very clever! It was rather amazing being able to see these home visits and make comparisons to the ones that I have experienced in the UK in general practice (they certainly didn’t involve any jungle hikes or snakes!)