Student blogs

This weekend we visited Ugandas capital city: Kampala.

Travelling there alone was different: We travelled on public transport with the guest house manager to show us the ropes. Public transport here is different to back home- there are no trains so people rely on intercity buses. We squeezed onto the coach packed with luggage, people, children, and the occasional chicken. There are few seat belts to be found on the buses and they travel in excess of 100-120km/hr which is exciting on the bends to say the least! Fortunately after a while people got off and we managed to sit together by a window.

Read Elective: A trip to Kampala in full

This week has been quiet in the hospital- we have had a lull in the number of patients- apparently this is the calm before the storm, as malaria season is about to start!

Despite having less patients we have still been challenged by many cases. I was particularly surprised after seeing a case of domestic violence, to discuss the issue with the nurses on the ward. They were very shocked to hear that this is not routine in the UK and that women can seek legal protection. They explained that many here see domestic violence as a way of showing love.

Read Five down… in full

Again this weekend we feel ourselves lacking power! There was a heavy storm last night (even by British standards!) which we think took down some power lines. This is great news for Sam who is in charge of the candles.

This week has been better than last as we’ve started to settle into life here and get to know more staff. We were even told we have become ‘more Ugandan’ this morning at Church. They described this as being more at ease, but we think it’s that we seem to be late for everything however hard we try!

Medicine this week

Herbal medicines are used a lot here, compared to back home.

Read Elective: End of week 4… in full

This weekend has been different, with no electricity. It has been great for avoiding doing the ironing, but not so good for technology and warm showers! We had put this power cut down to a storm, but were surprised to find out that it’s because nearby they need power for insect hunting. At night they set up very bright lights next to insect hills to tempt the insects out so they can catch them to eat and sell, so were diverting our power for their lights. Very different!

This week we have seen lots of infectious diseases again, including lots of malaria, pneumonia, TB and HIV.

Read Two weeks down… in full

One week down, seven to go. This week has been different to our usual placements and we have been challenged with our clinical knowledge, skills and our communication skills.

Suitably for studying medicine 5000 miles from home, the very first condition we encountered was a snakebite. Here, medical students are expected to know a lot about a variety of different bites, but as we only get 100 snakebites a year in the UK with few venomous snakes, our knowledge was sparse to say the least!

Other differences here include the lack of what we would consider basic investigations and critical emergency drugs in the UK- for example there is no ECG machine and imaging relies on ultrasound and X-rays.

Read Elective: End of Week One… in full

We have already fallen in love with Uganda- a country of great sunshine and fantastic views. Between these there has been a lot of rain (to remind us of home), insects, gecko lizards, outdoor and cold showers and unusual toilets.

Culturally things are very different here. So far the biggest difference has been the language. There are many local languages in Uganda, depending on the region, but the official language is English. However this has not been easy to understand, with heavy local accents. We are more and more aware of the advanced English we use to speak and are slowly learning to choose our words more carefully and slow down!

Read A whole new world… in full

Greetings from Uganda! Internet here is not quite as accessible as it is in London, so posts will be few and delayed I expect! We have arrived safely (and, somewhat surprisingly), with all of our luggage!

The weather here is nice, with most days sunny in the morning and rain in the afternoon (we are travelling in rainy season!). The rain explains why Uganda is such a lush green country, a mix of true tropical rainforest where we have actually and farmland where tea, coffee, and matoke (a green, savoury, starchy banana) are grown. In the rainforest we came face to face with chimpanzees and mountain gorillas.

Read We have arrived… in full