Medical Electives at Mseleni
Hospital
Whatever
country you're from, you're very welcome to come and do your medical elective
here in Mseleni. You can come for any length of time, and the type of work is
tailored to your needs.
Here is some further information for those people who are thinking of coming
here for their elective.
What will be expected of
me?
You'll be expected to get involved in the day to day running of the hospital.
Depending on how long you are coming for you may get the opportunity to look
after one of the wards and reporting back to the doctor. You will be on a
daily ward round in the morning and have opportunity to be on call at night
with one of the doctors. Nights are generally quiet after about 7pm but not
always! Students are encouraged to join doctors on their visits to the
clinics and to go out on the mobile team. Also to see the community health,
school health, TB follow up and AIDS info teams at work. In theatre you will
get opportunities to scrub up and assist, or help with an anaesthetic,
learn to do spinals and suture wounds, drain abscesses etc. Outpatients is an
opportunity to further test your diagnostic and management skills.
What diseases
should I know about?
If you are coming from a western country then the diseases you'll be treating
at Mseleni will differ considerably from those you're used to. There are many
cases of TB and over 3/4 of patients are HIV+. Bilharzia
and worm infestations occur commonly and childhood malnutrition. You'll see a
lot of people with Mseleni Joint Disease (a local arthritis of unknown aetiology). Malaria is also present.
There are the more familiar ear infections, gastroenteritis, chest, and
trauma to stop you feeling as if you haven't a clue how to treat anything!
What about food and
accommodation?
Accommodation is provided at a charge of 50 rand per night (including food)
and is in chalets next to Dr Fredlund’s house
or in the house itself. Your house is fully equipped with cooker and fridge
freezer, bathroom with shower and mosquito nets over the beds. Most evenings you
will eat with Dr Fredlund and his family, but you
will find that the doctors will also invite you from time to time to eat with
them or you may like to go elsewhere occasionally. Breakfast and lunch are
also available from their kitchen. There is a washing machine available in
the main house.
What
is there to do outside the hospital?
There are usually 2 or 3 students or visitors staying at any one time,
meaning there is normally someone around to do stuff with. Work starts with
the ward round at 7:30am and finishes at 4pm. At this stage the computers are
available in the doctors’ office if you wish to contact people via
email or you can just go home for the evening off.
There is a
flood lit tennis court, squash court, badminton and table tennis available at
the hospital. In the community centre there is a lending library. The local
lake makes a nice walk but not good for swimming due to bilharzia,
hippos and crocs. The beach is 40 min drive away and very nice (so make
friends with someone who has a car!). Game parks in the area are a major
international attraction.
Mseleni
is only small, but Mbazwana, the local service centre is only around 30mins
away by car or taxi. This has a supermarket (soon to be two), an ATM and
shops providing most things that you might need. For anything that
can’t be found locally, Empangeni is around
3hrs and Durban
is about 5 hours away by road.
You
do not have to work weekends, meaning they can be used to relax or explore.
If you chose to stay and relax, you can use the local facilities or just catch
up on rest and sleep in the house. You would be welcome to join people going
to Church on Sunday. Often, a number of doctors and students will go away for
some or all of the weekend, perhaps to the beach or hiking in the hills.
What do I need to bring?
In the hospital men may wear trousers or relatively smart shorts and a
collared shirt. Women are expected to wear long trousers or skirts. For the
beach, shorts are OK for women. Since you will be spending much of the day
standing up or walking around, you will want comfortable footwear, trainers
are accepted. If you are a Christian and will be going to church, men will
need a pair of long trousers. You may wish to bring other clothes more
suitable for weekends away. If you are coming in the summer (Nov to April)
you won't need too many long sleeved or warm clothes but do bring an umbrella
because there are often heavy showers. During winter it can cool off, so you
will want some warm clothing. There may be some rain, so a jacket or umbrella
might be advisable.
Other items you might
like to bring:
- High factor sun cream
- Malaria prophylaxis
- Swim wear
- Stethoscope
- Camera (with lots of
film/memory space)
- Driving licence
- Torch/flashlight
- Insect repellent
- Reasonable amount of cash
in rand as there are no banks to change travellers
cheques nearby.
- A phone that can take
a South African SIM card (can be bought for around 80rand)
- Pens
- Electric plug
converter
Where should
my mail be sent?
Students have their own post box:
Medical
Student
P.O. Box 161
Sibhayi
3967
KwaZulu Natal
Republic of South Africa
There is a post office where you can get stamps and post letters.
Post from UK takes 5-10 days, USA takes 7-14 days.
Telephone number is +27 (0)35 574 1004 and there are call boxes from which
you can make outgoing calls.
For more
information about doing your medical elective
at Mseleni Hospital, contact Dr Victor Fredlund:
victor@mseleni.co.za
