Male Surgical Ward/Theatre

Hello all,

We are wrapping up our third week here in beautiful Mongu. For us (Matt & Shelly), we were able to spend this one split between helping with school health week at the save a life center (operated by the Zambia project), and at Lewanika General Hospital in the male surgical ward and OR (called simply ‘theatre’ here).

The school health week went off without a hitch. We were able to see over three hundred children (grades 4 through 10 on the first two days) during our time there. We helped conduct vision and ear exams, collected heights and weights, and calculated BMI’s to assess for adequate nutrition. It was great to get to interact with the children, and likewise work alongside our colleagues from the save a life center.

The following two days we started our mornings in the male surgical ward. There we familiarized ourselves with the daily routines of the unit. We helped the nursing staff with vitals, assessments, and daily cleaning duties (“damp dusting”) before joining in on the clinical officers “rounds” of the patients.

In the afternoon, we made our way to the OR (“Theatre”) where we changed into theatre scrubs, shoes, and masks, and were welcomed into the surgical theatre by the incredibly friendly staff.

Our first case on Thursday was a caesarian birth (“ceaser”), and was of particular significance for us both as it was the first birth we had witnessed. As it was a high risk delivery, we both mentally prepared for what we might need to do if resuscitation of the neonate was necessary. We recalled the afternoon we had spent in pre-departure training where we had reviewed the indications, and subsequent interventions, necessary to revive an infant.

As it turned out, our pre-departure training couldn’t have been more applicable, as immediately after delivery, the Doctor turned to Shelly and said simply, “you will resuscitate this one”. In a flurry, the limp child was carried to the warmer and over the next 10 minutes we worked alongside a nurse and anesthesiologist to successfully revive the baby. We both felt time seemed to run slowly and all else in the peripheral environment fade to the background as we dried, suctioned, stimulated, and ventilated. For both of us, this day undoubtedly marked one of the highlights of our trip.

The next day, we similarly started our morning off in the Male surgical ward, and then returned to the theatre. We started our day off by watching the amputation of a leg, then were able to watch a gynecological procedure during which the power to the building cut out and we were forced to help light the surgeons field with the light from our iphones. Later that afternoon (power restored), Matt was allowed the opportunity to “scrub in” on the final procedure of the day, helping the surgeon by handing tools, retracting, and preparing the sterile field amongst other things.

For us both, we were reminded of how the “right” way of doing things, is often a subjective term as we witnessed our colleagues this week operate in exceptional competence, despite things looking different than they would in Canada.

This next week we are off to a rural community where we will be setting up a clinic for several days before ending our time here.

All the best to you all,

Matt & Shelly