Sitting in one of the Medical School conference rooms observing the Ugandan Pharmacy Intern presentation.

The Wilkes Team with the Principle Pharmacist, Mr. Sseguya.

Today we spent the morning at Mulago National Referral Hospital meeting with some of the Pharmacy Interns and the Principle Pharmacist.  We went to one of the pediatric wards and met the Matron.  This is the head nurse and each unit has one.  She is referred to as Sister, but this does not mean she is a nun. It is just the custom.  The Matron is in charge of the unit and always needs to know what is going on and who is working on the unit so it is really important to be officially introduced to the Matrons.  The Stanfield

Gonsha, the Pharmacist who facilitates the noon conferences for the Interns, and KarenBeth at the Presentation

Ward Matron, Margaret, graciously gave us a tour of the unit and welcomed us to work there.

The Pharmacy Interns have an educational conference every Thursday at Noon and we were able to attend today. The presenters did an excellent job!  I am really impressed with their knowledge and self-initiative.  They just need more guidance and mentoring to learn to use their skills regularly to help patients and this is what I aim to do.  Talking and working with the Interns and Pharmacy Students really motivates me to continue to come to Uganda and continue teaching and modeling pharmaceutical care.  For the rest of our time in Kampala, the American students and resident will be split up to work one-on-one with different Pharmacy Interns and then next Thursday, they will help with the presentations.

Stacy, one of the Pharmacy Residents with our team, has been working in the Uganda Cancer Center since yesterday. So far she has been helping out in the pharmacy but will probably be able to start rounding on the wards tomorrow.

All afternoon and early evening we were at the International Students Conference. This was such a good experience. I was very impressed with the presentations and it was a great introduction to Ugandan culture and their healthcare system and challenges. Stacy also made a presentation in front of 200 some Ugandan and Rwandan participants and did a fantastic job! How many Pharmacy Residents can put speaking at an International Conference in Africa on their CV? Seeing so many health professions students together learning with and from each other was so inspiring. The students are writing about it now, as I am writing, so you will get to hear all about it tomorrow.

We finished up the day eating Injera with a variety of vegetable and meat sauces at a really yummy Ethiopian Restaurant called Casablanca. Injera is a spongy but slightly sour soft bread on which all kinds of concoctions are piled. You use pieces of the Injera to pick up the food, rather than any utensils. It’s not only delicious but kind of fun!

Injera (sometimes spelled Enjera)- This is really delicious!!