Murdoch nursing & midwifery students return home from Thailand

 

COUNTRY: Thailand
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Lidia Palumbo

A whole three weeks absolutely flew by and before we knew it, we were arriving home at Perth Airport being greeted by loved ones. When you first apply to come on this amazing once in a life time trip you have all these ideas on how amazing it will be and yes it will be tough but it won’t be that bad will it? The truth is, the experiences that you will have here will change your life and it truly will be amazing. But the tough stuff, the things that you may have thought about and the stuff you think you’re mentally prepared for, you won’t be as prepared as you need to be.

Being in the city is your first introduction to this brand new country and you think to yourself “this isn’t too bad, what was I worrying about” a tour of the city opens your eyes and you get to see how other people live. The day before heading out to the villages everyone is so excited and ready to make a change, we all said a quick goodbyes to our families over Skype, Facebook and let them know we would be out of touch for the week.

After a long drive that really doesn’t seem that long at all we arrived at our first village destination for the week. We were all so excited about the adventure that was ahead of us.
Then we began our clinics, our first day was scary and confronting. Eventually you get the hang of things, become more comfortable with the environment and the people. I think I speak for every one of us when I say we all had good days and bad days, but by the end of it not one of us regretted our time here. There are days when you see a patient and you have all these ideas of what you could do to help them and then you realise that you’re not in Australia and treatment options are so very different in rural Thailand and you feel defeated. Then the next day you can give someone something that seems like such a simple treatment option but your patient is so overjoyed that they got some vitamins or a new pair of glasses.

The Thai people are the most wonderful people I have come across. They are kind, thankful and very humble people. To think about the amount of work these people do and what their life is like is something to applaud. I remember when they would thank me for the time I spent with them and I would think to myself “Thank me? I should be thanking you for welcoming me into your world”. Throughout the whole three weeks we experience a whirlwind of emotions, frustration, accomplished, tired, overjoyed, humbled, sadness, happiness and it was worth it all.

In the end, no amount of “what will I see” and “will I be able to deal with it?” preparation will equal the things that you will see coming on this placement. It was the trip of a life time and I would not change my experiences both good and bad. The amount I learnt and the way it has impacted me will stay with me and in my practice for a very long time.

Health promotion clinics for Murdoch University students

 

COUNTRY: Thailand
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Murdoch University

Sawatdee! After a fun filled weekend with lots of adventure, shopping and pampering we headed out to Tong Loi village where we would be based for the week. This week provided lots of time for us to get involved with the kids and do lots of health promotion. We’ve all lost count of how many times we washed our hands and brushed our teeth! We got to have some fun too teaching the Thai children the hokey pokey, heads-shoulders-knees and toes, and this is the way we brush our teeth! The kids definitely had much more energy than we did!

Our clinics were a little quieter this week, but it only enabled us to work harder and spend time with our Om Goi health care workers. Our lunch breaks included jamming sessions as getting to know our team! We all got to discover what it was like to live together 24/7!

After the end of week two our weekend provided a much needed break with showers and shopping and more wonderful Thai food. Before we knew it the weekend was over and we headed back out to Tong Loi for our final week. We travelled a bit further on Monday and Tuesday and arrived to our clinics with patients already waiting for us! Our last week has definitely been bittersweet, we are all so excited to come back home to family and friends but were all sad our time in Thailand has come to an end.

While in Tong Loi we were privileged enough to have the head man's house to live in and on Monday night we had a ceremony. In Thai culture they practice one ceremony which is a welcoming, good luck and goodbye all in one! The focus is on all things new, included is chickens (not from a farm), fresh cooked rice and last but certainly not least rice whiskey that has not been tasted before. The Thai people believe that when you travel your spirit may wander so by having this ceremony it calls back your spirit to you. We all have our own white wrist bands that are symbolic of our ceremony.

Tuesday we said our goodbyes to Tong Loi and all the people who made our time here so special. The head man gave us all a traditional Karen bag, these bags usually take about 2 weeks to make. We are all so grateful of the hospitality of the people and of their gifts to us. We then headed out to our very last clinic that proved to be as hectic as our first day!

We then headed to the hospital for a last goodbye and got to see our co-workers from the hospital. Wednesday and we are heading back to Chiang Mai and heading out for dinner together before doing last minute shopping to make sure our suitcases are full as can be!

We can't wait to be home and share all our stories. Speak soon!

Murdoch Nursing Students say Sawatdee from Chiang Mai

COUNTRY: Thailand
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Murdoch University

After a long day of travelling we finally made it safe and sound to our hotel in Chiang Mai. Our first day began with a "2kms" walking tour in 39 degrees, of this wonderful city, starting with a visit to the museum learning about the history and culture of this beautiful city. We then strolled some more where we visited Chiang Mai's largest temple and we joined the locals with their prayers. Our next temple was filled with wax statues of important monks that had passed away. We were slightly in awe by the realistic nature of these wax works! The end of our day brought shopping in the chaotic Sunday markets which are amazingly close to our hotel and a Thai massage which let me tell you was definitely a different experience!

On Monday we travelled to Payap University - McCormick faculty of nursing and experienced the life of a nursing student in Chiang Mai. Uni life is so different here, students must live on campus for the duration of their four year degree and only visit their families on the weekends if there are no tests or activities. Students are not allowed to have a job because they are in class 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday! After a tour we had the opportunity to meet some students and it was great to see that they are just like us! We also got a look into what subjects they study each year and we saw how similar it was to our own degree. After a fantastic day we started our three hour journey to Om Goi, stocking up at the 7 eleven with snacks and naughty treats! Sleeping in a big room with all 11 of us students tonight! Lots of laughs and giggles before bed!


Our first day in Om Goi we travelled to the hospital and visited different wards, the outpatient clinic, women's health clinic, labour ward and the doctors room. It was so good to see how differently equipped the Om Goi hospital is compared to back home. There are only two doctors in the whole of the hospital and only one in that day. The whole team learnt so much in one day and truly enjoyed the experience. After the hospital we travelled to our very first village stay in Yang Pieng.

The rest of our week conisted of running our mobile health clinic. The rain certianly found us and has not really stopped much for three days! Our very first clinic, which we held at the Yang Pieng school met 180 patients of all ages! This proved a little tough for everyone, using skills we haven't used in awhile and trying to recognise that there is only so much that we can do with the resources we have. We have done lots of education and health checks over the three days and there can only be more! We all love doing our mobile clinics, working with the amazing Thai healthcare teams, and slowly slowly giving away all the donations we collected!

This weekend we plan to ride an elephant, try zip lining, cookery classes, pampering spa days and lots of amazing food (the Thais really know how to cook!) and no doubt we will squeeze in more shopping time before we head out to our next village for five days of busy clinics.

Bye for now!

Murdoch University students set up health clinics in rural Laos

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Murdoch University

Sabaai dii… Hello!

Week three saw us stay in the purpose built dorms in Ban Napho. We arrived to a lovely reception from the village and enjoyed performances by the local Laos dancing group as well as songs, games and more dancing. Monday was a very busy day with us conducting two clinics before spending time with villagers to discuss the needs of the community.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we conducted more health clinics with a ceremony on Thursday afternoon with the District governor, government officals and village chief.

After the official proceedings our group was very pleased to donate the unused medications and three big bags of medical supplies to the district as well as present some gifts to the health care workers that had been working with us at each clinic. This was followed by a huge spread of amazing Laos food and some beerlao to celebrate the great partnership.

On Friday with a mix of sadness and excitement we packed our bags and were again treated to a Basi Su Khouan ceremony and many of us are still proudly wearing our cotton arm bands received during the ceremony.

In the afternoon we headed to the sacred Pak Ou Buddha Caves, a place of significant cultural importance to those who follow buddhism follwed by a Mekong River Cruise back to our hotel. In the evening we shared our last Laos meal together at Utopia before shopping at the beautiful night markets. Saturday we headed for Luang Prabang airport and were farewelled by the wonderful guides from Buffalo tours.

Team Murdoch is now home and settling back into our lives. Its been a hectic week back in oz with many of our group attending interviews for our 2013 grad programs.

Its been an amazing trip, we have seen and done so much and we are all a little sad its over. Team Murdoch boosts a unique group of special people and we are honoured to have had this experience together. We have many people to thank and recommend the experience 100%.

Murdoch arrive in Laos

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups - Murdoch University
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Murdoch University

Sabaai dii … Hello from Laos. The Murdoch team has arrived safely and is all well. Our accommodation in Luang Prabang is really comfortable and central. On Wednesday we visited the Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital and were greeted by one of the directors who is also a GP and lecturer, he gave us a presentation on health care and the hospitals objectives in Laos followed by a tour. Next was the Nursing College were again we were welcomed and given a generous amount of time from the school director and lecturers followed by a tour and demonstration of child birth procedures in Laos. Thursday was the start of our adventure into the Sueang Valley. After the pleasant drive through the picturesque countryside we arrived in the village of Ban Hat Houay to a lovely welcoming by the Governor and official of the district and village chiefs. The food is amazing and I doubt any of us will lose any weight as planned! The home stays are homely and the people are so kind and accommodating. We’ve had a few funny experiences getting used to the Laos toileting and bathing system, however I am sure we will all be experts soon.
We held our first clinic yesterday in the village of Ban Hua Keng and we are very proud to report we were able to assess 96 villagers in the morning. Our team of Murdochians, translators and health care workers formed a great team and we feel quite confident and excited for the full week of clinics starting Monday.
Today we are back in Luang Prabang and using the day to catch up on paperwork, get massages and do a little exploring. We hope to rise early tomorrow to watch the many monks walk the streets at 5:30am and give them our offering. At 2:30pm we head back to the village to prepare for next week’s clinics. Sonk dii der… Good bye from the Murdoch tea

Murdoch University in Laos a great success

Seaung River, Laos

Murdoch University Nursing, UniBreak Group Placement, Laos, June/July 2011

First, the programme is a great success. The Supervisors, Caroline and Julie, have been extremely pleased with the clinical experience and the students are very proud of the amount of work being done. Last week they saw a great variety of cases and as this is the first medical group during rainy season, there were a number of new cases (ex Rheumatic Fever, Malaria, Scabies).

The students have also had to make some difficult decisions on the amount and type of care they can provide with some very difficult group discussions. This has meant some tears and emotions for the group but as the supervisors say, in a few months they will be professionals and asked to make tough decisions. The Murdoch group came across patients in need of transportation to the Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital twice last week - once for a woman with sceptic shock and a young girl suspected Malaria. During the transportation, one supervisor and two students accompanied the patients to provide care. This was a good learning experience for the students. – Graham, Murdoch University, Laos