UgandAshis 29 Medicine in Fort Portal

UgandAshis 29 Medicine in Fort Portal

July 7, 2009

Kampala, Uganda

Today I have taken time to write. It was not a lack of inspiration or ideas to write about. I shall try and be more consistent over the next weeks and months. There are so many stories to tell fresh they may come alive even more.

To start off we helped out organize a house that will function as a maternal and child health clinic in Fort Portal for OTA. An operation theater and birthing stools are to be placed, staff has been recruited and the walls of the patient rooms are being painted. Basically all requirements to run a clinic like this are being put into place. For now I am just advising and there may be a moment in the near future I get more officially involved.

As in the first OTA clinic where I am getting involved in patient care and procedures as pleural taps. Imagine one of your pleural cavities holding 2 liters of fluid. Shortness of breath and painful breathing will follow. A differential (simple) to think about is an infection (Tuberculosis or pneumonia), or a malignancy (small cell carcinoma or mesothelioma). We are hoping for an infectious cause because it is treatable. The pleural tap ended up being 1.5 liter and we are awaiting the culture and other lab results.

The hospital work is getting more challenging mostly in a positive sometimes in way to teach patience. As I went to do ward rounds on Saturday I found no nurses in the hospital in the pediatric, female and male medical wards. I waited around for an hour, searched for medical officers in training to have 3 show up instead of 10 (usual number). Then my class was canceled as there was nobody. The reason for the absence of the clinical officer students was evident – they have their final examination coming up in one week.

A good talk with the principal followed and I shall focus and the students that will become third year’s from next week. Focusing on history, physical examination, differential diagnostic thinking, investigations and treatment plans. The best thing it sharpens my clinical acumen, as for all questions I ask I get questions back and I review my books a lot in Fort Portal. I shall do ward rounds with about 12 students at a time for about 2 hours and give a 2 hour theory session in the afternoon 2 -3 times a week.

As far as the medical work in the hospital itself – my friend doctor Pariyo has asked me to do his pediatric rounds 1-2 times a week, the other days I will do the rounds at the male/female medical ward.

One of the bonuses this week was when I found two 5th year medical students from Gulu University. They are eager to learn and have a deeper level of understanding then my clinical officers. Either way it is good to learn and teach at all levels. Gulu is on my itinerary and I have an opportunity to go next week meeting up with an NGO that wants me to teach a course for village health workers as well as meet up with the medical faculty there.

Finally for this blog: the public health course at Half Moon Monkey Mountain will be starting with at least 30 students in August, there is a flood of applications. Once I get my designated topic I can start preparing my course work for them as well.

Namaskar,

Ashis