Today we visited Mulago hospital for the first time. We learned that we will be shadowing the pharmacy interns (there are almost 70 at Mulago). We will also be collaborating with these interns to present a patient case to other interns; we will be evaluating the patient's medication regimen. I am so excited to do this because it allows us to share ideas with the Ugandan interns and to discover what they have learned. My first presentation will be on hypertension in pregnancy which allows me to work in the maternity ward- something that I have always been interested in! A few things that we noticed today while touring the hospital include: Family members can come and stay at the hospital but they cannot be around the patient while they are being treated. They set up camp in the hallways and outside of the buildings to stay until their family member is well. Also, the pharmacy interns have more responsibility. They work at the satellite pharmacies in the different wards.
We also visited the Uganda Cancer Institute. It was so interesting to me how sophisticated the medical system is here. Their process of treating cancer is to begin with chemotherapy to isolate a boundary around the tumor for surgery, then surgery, radiation, and then back to chemotherapy as needed based on success of previous treatments. There are 36,000 patients and 3 pharmacists. Labs only take 30 minutes. Patients come from all of the surrounding countries to be treated at this institute. Oral morphine is unlocked and readily available. The pathology unit was air conditioned. They use similar medications for chemo induced nausea. The infusion center is a small room with chairs, the IV flows by gravity and instead of bags, they use bottles.
Tomorrow will be our first day working at Mulago!
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