After yesterday’s long orientation in which the ins and outs of Arusha, Tanzania were described to us, in addition to a Swahili crash course (I think the only things I remember are: “sita” is six, because Sita is my middle name, and “taco” means butt…hopefully I’ll pick up more in the near future *fingers crossed*), and a trip into the town of Arusha (Shop Rite may just be my new lifesavor) where I got ripped off buying Malaria pills, I finally had the opportunity to begin working at the Arusha Women’s Health Centre/Clinic. I woke up at 7:30 am, grabbed a quick breakfast of Swahili donuts, coffee, and peanut butter on toast, and eventually made my way to the Health Clinic, 15 minutes away. I could not be happier with my placement! The hospital is divided into 3 subdivisions wherein there is a pediatrics station, maternity and labor wards, and a laboratory section wherein syringes are prepared, sediments in urine is observed for UTI’s, and blood is drawn to check for disease and blood type. The head doctor of the hospital is Dr. Wanjara, and another main doctor, Mama Tiaso, is my main mentor. At first, I was given receptionist-related tasks so as to educate myself of typical conditions of the women admitted to the hospital. I also learned the ropes of filing new and old patients’ files, which made for interesting reads in my free time (women often receive appendectomies, evacuations, and various treatments for HIV/AIDS and malaria). I observed the daily “rounds” which are essentially check-ups by Dr. Wanjara, Dr. Lyimo, Sam, and Mama Tiaso, on all the patients who would be or had been operated on. I was shocked to learn that some women suffered up to 19 miscarriages! I “pole pole”, or slowly, learned to categorize patients and had to use my own sanitary techniques to keep myself clean, as I was quick to learn that one predominant issue with the Clinic is that adequate sanitation is not seen as a priority. Luckily I was able to expand my tasks and I also took patients’ blood pressures and weights for their upcoming appointments. Overall I’m quite impressed by the efficiency and general up-keeping of the hospital; however, I am critical of their lack of sanitary tactics and reluctance to properly anesthetize. Additionally, they do not use computers so their tasks require much more manual labor than they would in the United States. I tried to teach Editha, the head receptionist, how to use Microsoft Excel, but it pretty much remained a lost cause since there is already so much data on paper. Regardless, I returned to the Volunteer House satisfied with my work. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds in store for me!
