Kristen Kenny’s Blog

The weekend comes

 8/22/08

I can’t believe I have already completed one week in Ghana. The time is already going by fast. Per request let me tell you a little bit more about the hospital. Manna Mission Inc also includes a school and a church on the grounds as well as some housing including the house I am staying in. The hospital is fairly small but they have plans to expand it. They have male and female wards, an operating room (that I haven’t seen yet), about 5 or so clinic/consultation rooms, a lab, a pharmacy, a separate clinic building where they have an eye and dental clinic, a canteen/cafeteria, and imaging which includes X-ray and ultrasound. They have a number of Ghanaian doctors who are permanent staff but medical mission groups come through also. Unfortunately there aren’t any right now or I would have more company. The hospital’s motto is evangelization and quality health care and the atmosphere is spiritually focused. There are a number of pastors present, including the head of the hospital who is both a pastor and a doctor. Every morning the staff has devotion and a larger hospital wide devotion on Fridays. As for the patient population I don’t quite have a handle on it yet but a majority of the diagnoses include malaria, typhoid, parasitic infection, URI, gastroenteritis, HTN, anemia, pregnancy.

I have a schedule for the rotation that has me going to different departments throughout my time. I started this week in the pharmacy for 2 days then to the lab for 2 days. To be honest I could have done with just one day at each. I feel like I have been here for a week and haven’t really seen any patients yet. But that is not to say that I haven’t learned anything. In the pharmacy I was introduced to the various malaria medications they use. I got to learn which drugs the pharmacy has in stock to help when prescribing in the clinic. There are certain drugs in stock that the hospital purchases from drug companies but they also receive donations of medications from the mission groups. The strange thing is that it is often hard for them to get rid of the donated drugs. Many of the patients have national health insurance and the donated drugs are not covered by the plan and are much more expensive for the patients. So it is hard for them to get rid of these drugs. Sometimes they sell them to other area pharmacies so that they don’t expire and get thrown out. I don’t really understand why if the drugs are donated they can’t just sell them to the patients for less. I sort of tried to ask but did not really get an answer. Also while in the pharmacy I helped a little with their new computerized inventory program. Almost all of the hospital records (charts, lab results, inventory) are paper often handwritten in log books. The administrative offices have computers with internet and there is one laptop with wireless. The pharmacy’s new system is an excel program to help track which drugs are in stock and which need to be reordered. It seemed a little convoluted and difficult to use but I am sure the pharmacy staff will make it work.

My two days in the lab were also a bit boring but again I did learn a fair amount. The lab has a couple of automated machines several of which were broken and awaiting the repair person. Many of the test are done by hand often plus microscope. Perhaps that is how labs are done in the US but I imagined not. The tests they do perform are done right away so results often take a couple minutes. The patients wait for their results and then bring them back to the doctor in the clinic. I was impressed with the rapid HIV and Hep B test strips. I got to see malaria under the microscope as well as sickle cell anemia. They also test for two types of typhoid with the Widal test which I had never heard of before and often check for G6PD deficiency.

During the down time at the hospital I did get the chance to talk with pharmacy and lab staff members and learned a lot about living in Ghana. Also hopefully I kindled the beginnings of some friendships. One of the lab techs is trying to teach me Twi, one of the local languages. Unfortunately my ability to pick up new languages is pretty poor but I am trying. I’ve eaten a few Ghanaian dishes in the canteen, was treated to pizza last night, and love the fruit here mangoes, pineapple, bananas, plantains. Everyone has been very friendly and kind. I am still the only person at the mission house and it looks to be this way probably for the rest of my stay. I’ve gotten more used to it but the nights can get lonely. Luckily I have been able to go over to the girls’ apartment across the way. It is nice to have the company. We talk and watch tv, mostly news, soccer, and dubbed Spanish novellas. I have taken a few walks and a run around the Manna Mission complex but haven’t really been off the grounds other than my one trip to the grocery store. I hope to be more adventurous this weekend. I will let you know how that goes. Also my sleep has still been a mess but might finally be turning around. 4 out of 5 nights this week I would be very tired, fall asleep around 11 and then wake up at 2am unable to go back to sleep until hours later. I am feeling more comfortable in the house and hopefully have won the war of wills against my body.

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts, prayers, and support. I really appreciate it. Let me know how you are doing. And feel free to guide my blog with questions about anything you might find interesting. Peace.