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Clinical elective at Shirati Hospital, Tanzania
Reisverslag Karibu, welkom to Shirati
12 november 2014
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Shirati,
Tanzania
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A
Karibu, welkom to Shirati
Morning report is at 7:45 at the chapel, right in the middle of the hospital. This morning report is mostly done in English, but once the discussions start, I’m lost in the crossfire of half English, half Swahili vocabulary. As far as I understood it, there are a few critical patients at the paediatrics ward. After morning report we (the whole doctors staff, nurses and us students) went on morning rounds and gawked at these special cases. I stood in the back, thinking; this ten year old is going to die, while the doctors were bickering about the right treatment plan. Two hours later, the boy was indeed dead.
My internship started at the maternity ward, where I could assist mothers during their labour. Sukuma sukuma (push push!!!) was one of the first medical things I learned that day in Swahili. Giving birth is universal, the way they handled their sterile gloves and other equipment wasn’t. Why put two pairs of sterile gloves on, when you are going to touch the patients legs and wipe away her poo? Sterile ‘episiotomy scissors’ that are so dull, it takes 8 times before the episiotomy is fully done.
After I looked past all these formalities I really enjoyed the work and had a great time wrapping babies in traditional textiles. Around one o’ clock however, all the ultrasounds have been done and all the babies where delivered, so I could go back to Fred Chachas house to have lunch. Later that afternoon I went to the weekly textile and fruit market on the other side of town with Renée and Brian. Luckily I reapplied my SPF 50+ sunscreen, because I was getting fried. Armed with great haggling skills and broken Swahili we bought some extra fruits and vegetables, the whole backpack filled with oranges, tomatoes, bananas and eggs came to a total off €2,20.
In the evening, Inge the other Dutch co-assistant came by to eat Fred’s famous banana bread. We played cards while it rained cats and dogs outside, luckily enough the electricity didn’t go out for too long. I went to bed later than anticipated, dreaming that my next day at the maternity ward would bring less drama.
My internship started at the maternity ward, where I could assist mothers during their labour. Sukuma sukuma (push push!!!) was one of the first medical things I learned that day in Swahili. Giving birth is universal, the way they handled their sterile gloves and other equipment wasn’t. Why put two pairs of sterile gloves on, when you are going to touch the patients legs and wipe away her poo? Sterile ‘episiotomy scissors’ that are so dull, it takes 8 times before the episiotomy is fully done.
After I looked past all these formalities I really enjoyed the work and had a great time wrapping babies in traditional textiles. Around one o’ clock however, all the ultrasounds have been done and all the babies where delivered, so I could go back to Fred Chachas house to have lunch. Later that afternoon I went to the weekly textile and fruit market on the other side of town with Renée and Brian. Luckily I reapplied my SPF 50+ sunscreen, because I was getting fried. Armed with great haggling skills and broken Swahili we bought some extra fruits and vegetables, the whole backpack filled with oranges, tomatoes, bananas and eggs came to a total off €2,20.
In the evening, Inge the other Dutch co-assistant came by to eat Fred’s famous banana bread. We played cards while it rained cats and dogs outside, luckily enough the electricity didn’t go out for too long. I went to bed later than anticipated, dreaming that my next day at the maternity ward would bring less drama.