Ghana 2020

It has been an entire week since I sat at JFK airport anxiously awaiting my flight to Ghana. It has been a long and enlightening week. As you've learned from earlier posts, this week I worked in a small community clinic called a CHPS compound (Community-Based Health Planning and Service). In these clinics, parents bring their children in each month for vaccinations and weigh-ins, women come in for family planning, and patients who are sick come to find answers. The sicknesses vary from acute viral gastroenteritis to malaria to high blood pressure. If something is serious and needs to be seen by a physician, then the nurses refer them to a district hospital. These are small community hospitals of 50-60 beds that can handle slightly more than a CHPS compound. Lastly there are regional and teaching hospitals that can handle almost anything from dialysis to surgeries and lots of things in between. I learned yesterday that there are only five teaching hospitals in the entire nation of G...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to explore some of the community with the nurses. A couple of the nurses from the clinic went out into the community stopping at every house to check and see if the children were up to date on immunizations and vitamin supplementation. It's amazing to me that every child has their "weigh-in" card, and for the most part they keep up with it. By going out into the community, the nurses told me they get higher percentages of immunization overall. The kids are not used to seeing white people, so I got many stares and many of the children would come up and start a conversation with me. As most of you know, one of my favorite populations to work with is kids, so I loved seeing this and getting to interact with the children. Many of them would call me "Obruni" which means foreigner but is the common term they use for white person. I really enjoyed going into the community and seeing the families in their homes. Their homes are generally...

Akwaaba, friends! (Welcome!) Today is day three in Ghana, and I am absolutely loving it. I am learning much about the Ghanaian culture and healthcare system. Yesterday, I got oriented to the Cape Coast area (I'm still a little lost...haha), but overall I am making it through. I learned a little of the Cape Coast language. For example, your Ghanaian name is based on the day of the week you were born. I was born on a Monday, and my Ghanaian name is Adwoa. I am learning pieces of the language, but it is hard to pick up. During orientation around the city, my local host Geegy took me to the beach and the castle in Cape Coast. We did not go inside the castle for time sake, but I am planning to go on Saturday when Geegy has gone to pick up another student in Accra. The beach is beautiful, but the waves are much bigger than those in the US (gulf coast or Atlantic). Below is a picture of me at the beach. This week I am working at a "weigh-in" clinic in one of the local commun...

It is 8:00pm in Ghana, and I am finally settled in Cape Coast. I arrived at 2:00pm in Accra after a 9.5 hour red eye from NYC. I realized quickly that a plane is not a good place to sleep. On arrival we took a taxi and bus to Cape Coast. Ghana is extremely hot. The sun has been down for over 2 hours, and it is still probably 80 degrees outside. I am very tired from traveling for almost 36 hours, but I am excited to explore Cape Coast and get oriented at the hospital for work on Monday. This trip began in the planning stages in March 2019, so I have been anxiously waiting to be here for a while. On the bus ride into Cape Coast, I met a nice guy who asked why I am interested in international medicine, and I wanted to share with you all why it has piqued me interest. When I first decided that I was going to be a physician, I initially wanted to work with Doctors without Borders. My reason was that I wanted to help those in worse situations than me. I now have a new perspective. I realiz...

Two weeks from today, I will get on a plane and fly ten hours to Ghana. I have always had a heart for international medicine, and I am very excited for the opportunity to continue my medical education in Cape Coast, Ghana. I will work with Ghanaian locals in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and clinics for four weeks. On my last international medical trip, I was a rising second year medical student unaware of what exactly to do. I was charged with registration, triage, and packaging medication for patients. This time, I am much more prepared and ready to learn more about the practice of medicine in Ghana. I will be posting off and on during my time abroad on this blog. I'd love for you all to follow along. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated over the next few weeks as I prepare to leave and during my time in Ghana.