Blog Description

This past summer I went on a 6 week medical observational internship in Ghana, Africa with the Abusua Foundation (an NGO run out of Ghana). I went to gain experience in a hospital and see if medicine is really what I want to do with my life. I lived in the small village of Kwaprow, in the coastal fishing town of Cape Coast. I worked in two hospitals: Cape Coast District (smaller, less modern)and Central Regional (larger, more modern). I also taught English and Science to young children of my village at the BCL after-school program.

While there, I wrote a journal about my experiences in the hospital, teaching at the after-school program, and general life in Ghana. Since being home, some people have expressed an interest in reading the journal, so I figured the easiest thing to do was to post the journal here for anyone who is interested in reading it. Any patient names mentioned have been changed to ensure confidentiality.

It should be noted that because this is a blog site, the postings are in reverse order of when they occurred (which I can't change). So, to read the entries in order you should start from the oldest posts at the bottom of this page.

About Ghana
Ghana is a coastal country in West Africa. The national language of Ghana is English. The capital of Ghana is Accra. Ghana is considered the safest country in Africa (according to global peace index; see Global Peace Index map at the bottom). In terms of development, Ghana is ranked in the middle tier of African countries and 152 out of 182 in the world by the Human Development Index.

Monetary exchange:
$1.40 CAN = 1 Cedi, 1 Cedi = 100 Pesewas





August 11, 2010

For my last week in Ghana, I continued at the regional hospital.  Dr. Yamba, who I had followed the previous day and found to be a very good teacher, was working in the male and female medical wards, as well as the out-patient department, so I followed him to those places. 
On ward rounds, Dr. Yamba would ask me questions about each patient and guide me towards the correct asnwers.  While observing a patient with general sepsis, he quizzed me on how general sepsis presents.  After some help, I got that general sepsis presents with fever (as the bodies metabolic rate increases to fight the infection), high pulse and breathing rates  (to maintain the high metabolic rate), possible jaundice (from an over-active liver leading to malfunction), and possible ulcers (as bacteria degrades skin).
In the OPD, Dr. Yamba took me through the steps for a typical examination, with the aid of his patients.  First, the patient’s information  (name, age, residence, occupation, etc.) is recorded.  The principle complaint of the patient is then asked, followed by the order of onset for any symptoms.  Next direct questions are asked to help with a diagnosis.  For direct questions, the examiner probes the patients with questions to zero in on a correct diagnosis and treatment plan.  Next the patients family, social, and sexual histories are enquired about to get further clues for a diagnosis.  Current and past medications of the patient are also discussed, and any allergies of the patient are noted, to help in a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Next a physical examination is performed.  Dr. Yamba says you should always look, feel, and listen (in that order) during an examination.  In technical terms, it is said the examiner should: 1) inspect, 2) palpate (feel with hand), 3) percuss (tap the patient’s body and listen to the sound), and 4) ascutate (listen to body sounds with a stethoscope). 
Dr. Yamba also discussed important questions to ask a patient complaining of pain, which Dr. Kudoh had also previously told me about.  Questions for the patient include: Where is the pain? What are the characteristics of the pain (burning, stabbing, dull ache, etc.)? How severe is the pain is (scale of 1 -10)? How long the pain has has been going on for? Are there activities that reduce or aggravate the pain? Does the pain radiate anywhere?
I very much enjoyed the clinical training and experience.
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