Gamboula hospital is a rural 155 bed mission hospital with all the usual services, including an active public health program in 24 surrounding villages. It sees around 12,000 outpatients per year, 600 deliveries and 500 surgical procedures. It is partnered with ReachGlobal of the Evangelical Free Church of America (http://www.efca.org/reachglobal).
Students can be involved with ward rounds, assist in theatre, do deliveries as well as public health and community outreach work, depending on language ability and level of training.
A) Itinerary
We will have approximately 21 work days at Centre Médical de Gamboula. Most of the time in Gamboula will be spent working in the hospital. Every morning there is a chapel service and then a morning report, followed by a work day. Medical experiences will be fairly broad. I will have opportunities to observe, take histories, participate in rounds, and examine outpatients, and I will also be able to observe deliveries and surgical procedures. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to join in public health and community outreach work that is active in 24 of the surrounding villages, which is a simple and sustainable contribution to the community that will be hosting me.
We will also be able to engage with the community outside of the hospital setting. There is a nursing school there, and a number of individuals who are interested in improving computer skills and English. We are hoping to be able to provide some support in these areas, as well. Furthermore, there is a vibrant Christian community present, with numerous groups meeting in the evenings throughout the week. We have been invited to join in and are looking forward to doing so.
B) Other Players
Joshua Rosenblat (Meds 2014) and I are partnering on this trip. A physiotherapist I know and two other students from the United States will also be joining us for the duration of our elective in Gamboula. We are excited to share this experience with each other!
C) Travel Plans
Fly in to Yaounde, Cameroon, June 11. Fly in to Gamboula, CAR, June 13.
Fly out of Gamboula, CAR, July 3. Fly out of Yaounde, Cameroon, July 4.
Special Note: Four of us get to fly in a plane that would not hold five passengers!
D) Accommodation
For the three nights we will be in Yaounde, people known to the doctor we will be working with have offered to host us. A house is being rented to us during our time in Gamboula. We will be able to do most of our own cooking there, as well.
E) Personal Learning Objectives
My expectations are many and varied, but can perhaps be condensed into three broad categories:
1) To gain medical experience. While this is probably the least important of my personal objectives, it is the most obvious. As I am considering working in a rural setting in the future, I look forward to learning a great deal about the practice of medicine in rural, resource-limited settings. I also expect this experience will help prepare me for the ‘rigors’ of my upcoming clerkship and residency.
2) To see human suffering. While this objective may sound strange, I feel that it important for any health professional to develop an ability to empathize with the sufferings of their patients. In my life, however, I have seen very little suffering - and reading about it just isn't the same. The Central African Public is one of the poorest countries in the world. AIDS prevalence is between 10-15% and 25% of children are malnourished. Most people earn less than a dollar a day. You need to see this kind of poverty to begin to understand those who face it, to shake off your apathy, and also to understand your own blessings. Although, if what I have heard from others who have been to similar places holds true, perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised by the genuine contentment of a people with so little.
3) To see whether I might see myself having any future in international or humanitarian medicine. This objective is fairly self-evident, but I fully expect the depth and magnitude of my experience will leave me with far more questions than answers. I have long been interested in international work, and with my first foray into the field I hope to get a sense of whether or not I could be passionate enough to continue to be involved in it.
F) Site Support
Our plans have been approved and we are expected to come. There will be no direct financial support, but they have helped us tremendously already with sorting out VISA's, health safety requirements, and the logistics of travel and accommodations.
G) Impact Potential
This elective certainly has the potential to have a tremendous impact on me, both personally and professionally. I think I will come away with a greatly improved and diversified medical knowledge base, which will be truly helpful as I enter clerkship next year.
From the talks relating to global health that I have attended, and from speaking to friends who did medical electives last year, I fully expect the greatest impact to be at a personal level. I am excited to immerse myself in a radically different culture, and to see how much people living completely different experiences have in common with me. I hope that this elective experience will improve my capacity to understand and empathize with patients, but even more I hope that it will better me as a person.
I truly believe this initiative will positively affect the community that we are visiting on a number of different levels. One of the simplest ways we will benefit the community is by supporting the hospital staff. We are bringing them personal items they have asked for, we are raising funds to bring or purchase medical supplies, and we are bringing computer skills and English with which to teach the staff members who have asked to learn. We also hope to be involved in the public health and education initiatives that are already present and active in the region we are heading to. Here in Canada, we are raising awareness of the status of healthcare in Central Africa, and of some of the social issues that are faced by the people who live there.
1) Awareness and Fundraising Events
Leading up to the trip we are planning on various fundraising events, such as bake sales and friendly competitions. We are also hoping to raise awareness of the current health and social issues faced by the people of Central Africa, perhaps in conjunction with the Schulich Aid for South Sudan group. If you are interested in supporting our fundraising goal, please do! All donated funds will go directly to the hospital and/or medical supplies.
2) Blogging
We will be keeping a blog, through which we will share our experiences and reflections. While this will provide updates and interesting reading, it will prove most beneficial should Schulich partner with Gamboula's hospital because it will provide a window into the experience through which students could evaluate the program and whether or not it is for them.
3) Global Health Discussion Forum & Future Plans
Finally, upon our return Joshua and I are eager to have the opportunity to share what will surely be incredible experiences, as well as our own personal reflections, with the community here at Schulich. We also hope to talk to all of you about it!
If a partnership between Schulich and Gamboula's hospital appears sustainable, we will be happy to work on that when we return, and help create a sustainable and mutually beneficial initiative.
We thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this journey!
Matthew & Joshua
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