Where Will You Make a Difference?

Joseph Piper, a medical student recently returned from an elective in Kagando Hospital, Uganda, knew that his elective would be different from what he was used to, but had no idea that he would be faced with preventing Cholera spread with nothing more than soap.

There was a 51 year old man came with diarrhoea and an unrecordable blood pressure, which I diagnosed as our first adult case of cholera. Unfortunately, the isolation ward had no nurses, the side room was occupied with a complex case of HIV and pulmonary TB, so all I could do was buy 5 bars of soap, and give one each to the patient, his attendant and the communal sinks. I then asked everyone to keep washing their hands, and fortunately cholera did not spread around the ward.

Read Joseph’s full report here.

While not every student will face the same circumstances, feedback like Joseph’s lets you know the potential situations in any given area, and because students all over the world are constantly leaving feedback on The Electives Network, you get much more insight into the placements that grab your attention.

Membership of The Electives Network is free for MDA National Members, so login and make sure you make the most of this unique tool when you plan your elective.

Completed your elective?

If you’ve already completed your elective, make sure to load feedback to The Electives Network to let other students know about what they may encounter if they follow in your footsteps.