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My Trip to Africa
by Angelita Estadilla
As a 5th
semester student at St. Christopher Iba Mar
Diop College of Medicine I have held various
offices at the school; in my second semester
I served as AMSA Vice President, third semester
as AMSA Treasurer and in my fourth semester
I was AMSA President. Before I started Medical
school, I worked as a Surgical Technologist
for 8 years; 6 years of which were under three
Orthopedic Surgeons. I also worked at
a trauma hospital on the weekends. I believe
that this exposure has prepared me well for
the rigors of medicine and has enlightened my
ability to want to learn more in the service
of other people.
As
a fourth semester student, I took all the required
subjects including Physical Diagnosis. I learned
how to take a history and complete a physical
examination. As part of my class structure I
was required to go to the General Practitioner's
office, and required to work with the Physicians
while learning Physical Diagnosis. My experience
at the clinic taught me how to diagnose, observe
and examine patients. The tools I learned
from the clinic help me not only in medical
school but with my experience in Africa.
| When I started
at St. Christopher's in Sept. 2002, I was
informed about the Health clinics located
in Dakar and Kaolack, Senegal. The Health
Clinics are independent and non profit organization
that provides humanitarian services as well
as an informative platform on educating
the community of health measures.
St. |
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Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine is
involved in running the medical centers and donates
supplies, manpower and medications to the clinics
which allow them to provide free treatments for
those in need. I have always wanted to be
involved in voluntary humanitarian work outside
the US and my trip to Kaolack, Senegal helped
me realize this dream.
Malaria
is endemic to many areas of Senegal and I was
required to take anti- malarial drugs as prophylaxis
against the disease. The side effects,
which included fever, chills, nausea and vomiting,
were intolerable and my journey to Senegal was
off on a disappointing start. I felt better
in a couple of days and could not wait to start
my work in the clinic.
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I
arrived at the Dakar airport 3:30 in the
morning. I was greeted at the airport
by a program representative and taken
to a place where I stayed for the night.
Later that day, I took a 3 and 1/2 hour
drive to Kaolack which is a small community
consisting of concrete homes and open
air drainage. |
When I arrived at Kaolack
I was given a warm welcome by many people including
Dr. Gueye. He is the doctor at the Medina
clinic. When I arrived in my room, there were
two twin size beds and a bathroom. I had to
take cold showers everyday due to the lack of
hot water. The place was infested with insects
such as cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, I found that my mosquito repellent
didn't work.
The next day I began my work
in the clinic. The clinic was equipped with
a triage, labor and delivery room, consultation
room, inpatient room, and a dental room. My
experience at the clinic included inserting
IV lines and giving shots for malaria treatment.
I was able to give DTCP, MMR, yellow fever,
and BCG shots to the children and infants. The
other responsibilities that I had at the clinic
include wound care, extraction of purulent cysts,
asthma treatment, and taking vital signs.
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