Akwaaba!

Dated February 10

Hello again everyone! What a great first week in Ghana!  I have so much to tell you already.  To date I have worked my first two shifts at 37 Military Hospital.  I am currently working in the FOPD which is an outpatient obstetric ward.  I am learning tons regarding the assessment and care of high risk pregnant women.  I am very privileged to work with the midwives in Ghana and am recognizing how essential this health care speciality is in this part of the world.  The health care professionals here are some of the most dedicated individuals I have ever seen.  The high volume of patients coupled with few resources makes for an interesting mix and it is amazing to see how resourceful some medical professionals have to be to get by.  My biggest struggle so far is with the language.  Often some of the clients do not speak much English or are more comfortable speaking Twi (sounds like CH-WE).  So much emphasis in health care in Ghana is focused on rapport building and language is crucial.  This can pose a problem for this “Obruni” (white person) but my efforts are being recognized by the clients and they smile and laugh with me.  This helps and bit by bit clients open up to me more.  I completed my first independent assessment with the help of one of my peers and Grandma Abigail (my preceptor).    I will be posting more specific stories about my clinical experiences once I get a full week of shifts.  For the meantime, here are a few pics of the hospital and the girls in their “sexy” scrub dresses.  Just so you know, we are not nearly as cute by the end of shift once we have sweated through our slips and uniforms!

The best experience so far has been living in the hostel.  Every day I meet someone new and interesting from Ghana or another part of the world.  Everyone is SO WELCOMING which is why I titled this post “Akwaaba” which literally translates to “you are welcome” in Twi (sounds like CH-WE).  Hostel living does have a few inconveniences.  Rolling blackouts, water shortages, mosquitos/cockroaches/ants, just to name a few BUT I wouldn’t trade this for anything at the moment.  Silverlinings my friends is what it’s all about.  For instance, I can buy my breakfast from the car window in the middle of rush hour traffic and barter the price down without pulling into a drive through.  That’s efficiency.  I also have the best roommate in the world, Jaime, who is extremely easy going and a great soundboard for those not so great days when I miss home.   

  

This weekend the gang went to Labadi Beach.  We got to relax with some chilled drinks all afternoon and enjoy the ocean and sun.  I got to play soccer with some of the locals and show them my skills…NOOOT.  Even though I have two left feet and cannot kick a ball straight to save my life I had a fricken blast!  BEST CLINICAL EVER.  I look forward to week 2 and cannot wait to share more experiences with all of you! Thank you to my friends and family who continue to send me encouraging messages.  I re-read them all the time to feel closer to home J.