School of Nursing and Midwifery

International

Zambia

International Diversity

Queen's Visit to Zambia in 2005

Undergraduate nursing student Christine Irwin recalls her elective nursing placement experiences when she visited Zambia along with undergraduate nursing student Jane Lindsay from 21 February - 16 April 2005:

Jane Lindsay and I arrived in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia on the 21st of February 2005.

We stayed with Betty Magennis, a missionary with nursing and midwifery training who runs a small rural hospital in Dipolata, an area where locals live in villages of mud houses and travel by ox carts or on foot for miles.

We would sit in with Betty during consultations and take observations while she would explain the symptoms and treatments for illnesses that presented. We arrived at a time when there was an epidemic of chest infections and we gave injections of antibiotics three times a day and did regular temperature checks. Malaria, Belhartzia and Scabies were also very common. We had the opportunity to give out medication in the dispensary and observe tests in the lab. We also gave immunisations to children and cared for dying patients with strokes and Aids. It was very hard to see children born into the world whose parents were HIV positive as we knew they would only have a short life of sickness, suffering and would probably be orphaned, although there is good support there as families all live together. We were able to do antenatal checks, post natal care of mothers and babies and delivered babies under direct supervision. We also gained experience in taking blood for transfusions, suturing and caring for patients with snake bites.

In Dipolata the hospital staff were people the missionaries had trained up themselves, and we noticed a very task orientated approach, someone would do wounds, another observations, others worked in the dispensary, others concentrated on midwifery. Jane and I fitted in well and were greatly welcomed and involved ourselves in every aspect of the work. The staff loved to see us coming every day, we had a lot of fun and were able to do a great deal to help with the work load especially at that time. Some spoke good English and could translate for each other so we could all talk. We learned a lot about communicating non-verbally which will be very useful in practice due to our ever-increasing multi-cultural society. The children of the villages who were of primary school age just ran into our arms and we loved to play ball with them with balloons we brought. They make their own toys and have fun jumping in the rivers, although the water is stagnant and causes many of the diseases. We gave out balloons, soaps and sweets and they brought us gifts of oranges. Some of the children and babies cried, as they had never seen a white person and this made all the other people laugh!

Next we went to Chitokoloki Mission about two hours away, a bigger hospital with a male, female, children’s ward and a theatre. Zambian trained nurses worked there as well as Clinical Officers who are like junior Doctors. We stayed with Dr David McCadam and his wife Lorraine, a nurse and had the opportunity to be in theatre, on my first day for 14 hours in total! The only Plastic Surgeon in Central Africa was there operating on patients with burn contractures, hair lips and Elaphantiasis, it was such a privilege to be there. It was amazing to see how they worked with limited resources, all surgery was performed under IV or spinal Ketamine and the patients were awake! A week later we were able to redress the wounds and see how they were progressing which was good. We also went to an outreach clinic across the Zambezi river in a canoe and did antenatal checks, family planning medication and children’s vaccinations. We were cooked a meal by the villagers, mush, oil, leaves and a chicken which had been given to us live as a gift!

We had fantastic experiences, learning and practicing other ways of communicating, using our initiative when resources were limited, gaining an understanding of tropical diseases and midwifery. The people were so glad we gave up our time to help them and we had a wonderful time with them out in the villages, it was such a privilege. I really enjoyed being in theatres as I have not had the opportunity here, and the placement gave me confidence and a sense of really doing something worthwhile, although working in such heat was nearly unbearable at times! Dr McCadam took us on ward rounds and allowed us to examine patients, x-rays and ultrasounds which was good experience of seeing and knowing the clinical manifestation of diseases. Many people came out to see us at the airstrip to give us their thanks before we flew off, it was a very emotional departure. We relaxed in Livingstone at the Victoria Falls before coming home and did a safari in Botswana, which was a lovely end to the placement.

It was a really worthwhile placement and life changing experience and I would recommend all nurses to experience practicing in a third world country, where your skills and time are really valued by the people you help. The kind donations of hospital supplies given by Queen’s were greatly appreciated.