Madventurer.com

Challenge:

Medicine and Healthcare

Destination:

*Ghana

Departure Dates From:

19/07/2008

This project is a great opportunity for those planning to, currently studying or qualified in medicine, nursing or physiotherapy, to work in a busy hospital in the capital city, and assist staff with the day to day care of patients.

Project Details: You will be working at the Alpha Medical Centre in Medina, Accra. Set up by the Pentecostal Church over 10 years ago, the hospital aims to provide inexpensive medical care to residents of the city. In Ghana all healthcare must be paid for, and although there is a medical insurance scheme, which people can sign up for, many choose not to join for financial reasons. The hospital has 25 staff, and includes all the departments you would expect to find in a hospital including Theatre, OPD, ENT, Maternity, Male, Female, Adolescent wards and A+E.

Venturers Role: Your role will be varied and dependent on previous experience and level of studies. You can expect to be accompanying doctors on ward rounds, assisting nurses with general procedures and patient care on the wards, being present for OPD consultations, and helping with weekly out patient clinics including pre and post natal care. For pre-med students the mother and baby unit is an ideal dept to get hands on experience, and you will be trained by the nurses to enable you to get involved with baby weighing and general check ups. There is also the opportunity to go into the lab and observe how they test for Malaria, Typhoid etc, and theatre observation is also allowed. As a fully qualified nurse there is the opportunity to register with the Ghana Council of Nursing and Midwifery which will enable you to perform most procedures.

Accommodation: The hospital is a short bus ride away from our Madventurer house, where you can share your days events over dinner with other venturers doing teaching, orphanage, sports and journalism projects. The house is a great place to hang out, with a relaxed and laid back vibe - perfect after a hard days work! The house is also used by venturers starting and ending their community projects in rural areas so there is also the opportunity to meet many other people on different projects. As many venturers use the house we sometimes use our large frame tents with lino flooring and bunk beds which are larger and cooler than the accommodation in the main building, all inside a large compound with its own 24/7 security. Local Ghanaian food is provided at the house during set meal times but you are free to explore Accra’s many restaurants which cater for all tastes. On weekends you can either choose to stay in the city, or get out there and see the country. If you need them, our experienced crew are on hand 24 hours a day to provide support, assistance with any problems that you may have and share their insider knowledge on Ghana..

What's included: Meals at the Mad House, accommodation, transport, arrangement of placement and support from our experienced crew should you need it.