Daniel Okoto

I travelled overseas for my placement because I wanted to compare the similarities and differences between the healthcare system I’m used to and one I was unfamiliar with. I wanted to understand how local staff communicated with patients and went about interventions.

Visiting the first hospital was a surprise — I saw a large number of patients waiting outside in the heat, as the hospital was so overcrowded. The clinical experience was brilliant. There were so many opportunities for learning experiences in an intensive, high-pressure hospital setting.

I developed my lab-based practices inside the clinical departments with an intense emphasis on manual procedures when automatic machines or equipment broke down.

I enjoyed the wide variety of placement opportunities in my placement hospital. I explored pathology, microbiology, haematology, bacteriology, and other related fields.

Department-wise, my favourite was haematopathology. But the most interesting cases were in internal medicine. One such case was a patient who was put on a treatment plan for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 27. According to his follow-up lab work and pathological consultation, it was obvious that the treatment plan was working.

I was also able to perform CPR. The doctors asked how I knew how to perform CPR, and I told them that I had learned how to ventilate patients as a part of my clinical practice.

I even got the chance to help hospital staff in the ER with a critical patient who had been having seizures. I alternated between pumping, using the ventilator, and a suction machine.

The main difference in the hospital was the limited availability of resources, which was due to a lack of funding. But the staff always made the most of what they had available to them.

We spent a lot of time relaxing and frequently discussing each other’s experiences. All of which went well into the weekend, trips to the islands.

My experience in the Work the World accommodation was fantastic. The house team were extremely accommodating, the food was great, and there was always plenty of it.

The team were so helpful in getting us settled in. They took us on orientations, introduced us to our placement hospital and staff.

To make the most of a trip like this, you need to be true to yourself and seize whatever opportunities come your way.