Name
Olga Khan
Email
Oik21@cam.ac.uk
Project title
Clinical experience in general medicine in a rural hospital setting
Location of your Elective
Kalene Hospital, Zambia
Contact details for your elective
(eg. Website address or email
address of your project coordinator)
Kalene Mission Hospital,
P.O.Box 10 Ikelenge,
Mwinilunga District,
North Western Province,
ZAMBIA
What did you achieve?
kalene.reeds@gmail.com
I gained invaluable experience in obstetrics, paediatrics and infectious
diseases and anaesthetics, as well as observing medical management and
implementation of public health policies.
Would you recommend this
location / project to others?
I would strongly recommend Kalene Mission Hospital for a medical
elective to anyone interested in infectious diseases and rural medicine.
Further comments (eg. Travel
advice, tips for organising an
elective similar to this etc.)
The contact for the hospital- Rachel Reed was amazing at helping me
with travel advice and visas, especially as Kalene is quite tricky to get
to. I went with my husband, who rewired old parts of the hospital. There
was another medical student from Newcastle. It was nice to have another
student to work as a team, so I would advise going with a friend, as there
isn’t much to do in the evening, so it will be good to have someone to
spend time with.
Would you be happy for you
feedback form to be available on
our website?
Further comments (eg. A review
of your trip) max. 500 words.
Yes
I spent my seven-week elective period at Kalene mission hospital in
Zambia. It is situated in the North- Western province and is about 20km
away from the borders of Angola and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). The hospital has approximately 180 beds and provides
inpatient and outpatient services including maternity, paediatrics,
general medicine, infectious diseases, malnutrition and surgery. It serves
a local population of 44,000 Zambian citizens and many citizens from
Congo and Angola, who travel up to 300km to seek medical attention.
This area has limited resources and is very understaffed.
I chose to go to Kalene because I wanted to gain insight into healthcare
provision in a resource-poor hospital and gain experience in diagnosis
and management of infectious diseases and their associated
complications. My interest in paediatrics and women’s health
furthermore excited me about this opportunity, especially as childbirth
and infancy are a significantly important part of life in a rural setting.
Before my elective I hoped to gain experience in general medicine with
more time spent in O&G and Paediatrics, which is exactly what I
achieved. There were four wards in the hospital- male, female,
paediatrics and maternity. I rotated through female and paediatric wards,
while at the same time getting involved in maternity care. Ward rounds
happened every morning, with a grand round taking place every
Wednesday, where we would review all of the patients and discuss
difficult cases in detail. During these rounds I was involved in scribing,
taking histories, examining and presenting patients as well as devising
and implementing a management plan under doctor’s supervision.
Thursday was a theatre day with a full list that consisted of many
gynaecological and general surgical cases. In the operation theatre I had
an opportunity to scrub in and assist in minor surgeries as well as
gaining invaluable experience in anaesthetics.
After being in such a poorly resourced area I am now aware of the
privilege of what is available to us in our hospitals and the importance of
not doing the tests aimlessly, but being selective and having clear
reasoning as to why to do some tests. I also gained invaluable
experience in obstetrics, paediatrics and infectious diseases, as well as
observing medical management and implementation of public health
policies.
My elective exceeded my expectations. I was very welcomed by the
hospital and felt that I was a valued part of the team. I gained enormous
respect for the doctors working under so much pressure to bring the best
healthcare to such a rural area. I was inspired by their desire to learn,
their love for medicine and the people that they were serving through
dedicating their lives wholeheartedly to their job.