Striking Differences

April 13th, 2018 by tarakorff
Posted in Uncategorized|

It has been almost 3 weeks since I have arrived at the Baptist Medical Centre. The time has definitely flown by! I meant to be posting more often, but with occasional internet outages and the work and community here, I have not gotten around to it nearly as often.

 

In reflecting on my time here so far and in discussing cases and management of patients with the other workers here, there are many striking differences from healthcare in the United States. The most obvious differences are the diseases here that we don’t have or have very few cases of in the United States and the lack of resources.

 

The most common diseases seen here that are few and far between in the US are probably typhoid and malaria. Snake bites are also very common here. Chronic liver disease often due to Hepatitis B or C create a significant number of healthcare visits as well. Personally, I have diagnosed 2 new cases of chronic liver disease complicated by ascites requiring paracentesis. I have done 3 paracenteses myself (with supervision, of course) and have seen a number of others. Otherwise, the illnesses are often similar, but the patients tend to have complications and limited access to resources.

 

While I could talk about the limited resources for some time including access to medications and equipment, probably the most easy to understand resource limitation for those that are non-medical are the labs and testing. There is no x-ray, CT, or MRI here. We are able to send patients to a town about 1 hour away to get an x-ray, but the families are typically unable to travel there or unable to pay for an x-ray. In acute situations, such a motorcycle accidents, falls from mango trees, and other trauma, this often makes diagnoses difficult. There are several ultrasounds here, which essentially constitutes all the readily available diagnostics. As far as labs, there are a handful of test we rely on such as hematocrit and urinalysis as well as specific tests for malaria, hepatitis, etc. However, we are unable to reliably test kidney function, liver function, or blood counts, which are staple labs back home. All of these factors make for challenging circumstances, especially in the very sick patients.

 

On a different note, this is the first time I have spent much time in another country where I clearly stand out as a foreigner. The children like to yell out, “Sominga, hello!” as you pass, meaning, “White person, hello!” On a recent trip to the market with one of the other medical students here, we were followed closely through the market by a precious little girl who would hold my hand whenever I wasn’t looking and then drop it when I turned to look at her. She then followed us about 3/4 of the way home even after we left the market and never said a word to us the whole time.  Of course, we took a picture to remember her by.

With one week left here, I am excited to see what it holds as I continue to learn about the joys and challenges of serving here.

First Week Summary

March 31st, 2018 by tarakorff
Posted in Uncategorized|

 

The Baptist Medical Center

 

A lot has happened in a short period of time. Far too much to put in a succinct post. I will share a summary of details and hopefully get to posting more often now that I am feeling a little more comfortable and adjusted to the routine here.

 

The travel to Ghana and to the BMC went smoothly. Apparently the road from the local airport in Tamale to the BMC had just finished being paved a few weeks before my arrival, which made for a smooth 2 hour ride from the airport to the hospital compound.

 

I arrived at the BMC on a Saturday and spent the next few days learning the ropes with a small group from Massachusetts. Among them were 2 physicians, a resident physician, and a dentist. One of the physicians had lived in Ghana at the BMC for some time and I was thankful to have their expertise and direction as I adjusted. The first few days, I experienced a variety of activities including hospital rounds, clinic, surgeries, minor procedures, and a trip to see one of the local chiefs. All generally new processes and customs to me.

 

Eating dinner with a local chief

 

The team from Massachusetts left this past Thursday after the arrival of a large team of physicians, residents, and medical students from West Virginia on Monday. It has been a blessing to have company in the guesthouse here and a group to join in some of the hospital activities with in both of these teams. The local doctors that work here full-time have also been a pleasure to work with. The last part of this week I have been spending the majority of my time on the maternity ward with one of the local American doctors. I continue to learn much each day and experience new things each day.

 

It is mango season here. Mango trees are everywhere and there are people selling mangoes everywhere as well. Naturally, I have been eating a lot of mangoes and hope the trend continues. In general, the food here is great and I am well taken care of by the staff of the guesthouse here at the BMC.

 

I hope to post again soon.

 

Best wishes from Ghana,

Tara

I’m On My Way!

March 22nd, 2018 by tarakorff
Posted in Uncategorized|

I am currently in the London Heathrow airport passing the time before my flight to Accra, the capital of Ghana.  While I have been on quite a few overnight flights before, this was my first in a while and I have forgotten how difficult it is to sleep comfortably on a plane for long periods of time! In all though, the travel so far has been uneventful, which is the way I think I like it.  Total flight time before I get to Ghana will be about 18 hours and then add layover time on top. I left St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday afternoon. That means I will arrive in Accra later today, Thursday night!  Then on Saturday I will take a flight to Tamale in northern Ghana followed by a trip by road to finish the journey to the Baptist Medical Centre.

 

If you are interested in reading more about the Baptist Medical Centre where I am headed, their website is www.baptistmedicalcenter.org.  And of course, I will be posting more about it once I get there and have some first-hand experience.

 

International travel is not foreign to me, but this will be the first time to Ghana for me and the first time to Africa as well. The medical experience is sure to be new, enlightening, and exhausting.  The culture I am especially excited to experience because that will be essentially completely new to me!

 

I appreciate all your thoughts and continued prayers for safe travel.  I hope you all will enjoy following along on my journey.

Introducing Myself

February 7th, 2018 by INMED
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Hello! My name is Tara Korff. I am a Medical Student at A.T. Still University, and I’m starting my INMED service-learning experience at The Baptist Medical Center in Ghana beginning in March – April, 2018.