4 April 2017: A Blog Post by Becky

Afternoon Rounding Group at Mbarara Hospital

Since arriving in Mbarara on Sunday I have felt extremely welcome and have really appreciated the kindness of the people here.  The students are friendly and willing to help us understand the culture in Uganda.  I was excited to learn about the MUST pharmacy program and hospital systems in Mbarara.

Becky Gordon teaching Mbarara students about Hypertension and Diabetes

We started off this morning with presentations from the Wilkes students about some basic medical conditions and how to treat them.  I found it difficult to put together a PowerPoint that included both the US guidelines as well as some unfamiliar medications used in Uganda, but the MUST students listened attentively and kindly thanked us for our mini lectures.  Next we saw two patient case presentations from students who rounded with us yesterday.  They were great! The students demonstrated their knowledge of the patient care process by collecting patient information using the “SCHOLARMAC” tool we learned yesterday and organized it utilizing the patient monitoring form and medication administration record.

Reviewing what we learned on rounds in one of the small lecture rooms on the wards.

Yesterday on rounds I got a chance to see a few disease states I expected I would see here, but have not experienced a lot of in the US, such as Cryptococcal Meningitis, TB, and HIV.  Today I met a patient who did not have a diagnosis but was extremely interesting to research and learn more about.  I look forward to following her story in my few days left here. The students in my group were very enthusiastic and we had a great discussion about this patient.

At lunch the Acacia guesthouse had a buffet and I was able to experience traditional Ugandan food for the first time.  I enjoyed a carb-loaded plate piled with all the Ugandan “foods” and was happy with everything I ate.

Tomorrow we finish up our time here with a student social interaction.  I want to thank the MUST students for allowing us to learn along side them and showing us a great time while in Mbarara.