Eighteen hour flights each way for a ten day stay in Rwanda presented a daunting schedule for Gippsland student Hemmavathy Valluvan, known as Hemma – but as she reports, the experience was priceless.

Hemma with one of the Rwandan doctors taking part in the program.

In early August, I was selected as one of seven Australian Medical Students to accompany 20 specialists from all over Australia to assist and take part in the Specialists Without Borders Training Program in Rwanda.

Just the mere thought of having being selected to attend left me in disbelief, much less the realisation that I will be going on an 18 hour flight to Rwanda.

Rwanda is a beautiful country, very mountainous with an agriculture-based economy. The Rwandan government has playing a key role in ensuring the development of Rwanda by making numerous infrastructural changes such as the construction of roads and a proper traffic system.

The country also understands the importance of health awareness and service and has thus come up with many health programs and policies to ensure that its people are supported. In fact, over the past four years, there has been a steep increase in development of available resources and affordable and accessible health services.

A local child in hospital can still manage a smile.

The 10 day stay in Rwanda included two days of medical conference and six days of hospital visits in the city and villages. Unlike the majority of global health projects that primarily revolve around health education and health service, this program focused on training the local medical students and doctors to be capable of handling medical situations themselves by providing them with resources, basic skills and knowledge, including fundamental medical skills such as intubation and neonatal and adult resuscitation.

There was even a psychiatrist registrar who was able to educate the doctors on the importance of the holistic management of suicidal patients and those who are diagnosed with chronic illnesses.

The most eye opening experience I had was when I was on an orthopaedic rotation at the Kigabagaba Hospital. Since I had already seen numerous orthopaedic surgeries in Australia, I walked into their surgical theatre expecting the usual pattern of procedure.

However, what welcomed me was reggae music in the background, a femur exposed thigh and an orthopaedic surgeon who was actually a General Practitioner trained to conduct orthopaedic, gynaecological and general surgeries.

As much as I was worried that the patient would die from an increased loss of blood or an infection, everyone else in the surgical room were grooving to the music.

I have worked in Latrobe Regional Hospital this year and there were moments where the hospital might lack certain equipment or specialists for the patient and require the patient to be flown via a helicopter to hospitals like the Alfred. However, after going to Rwanda and having this experience, I could see the big difference in the level of health system in a developed country versus a developing country.

On my last day in Rwanda, a Rwandan doctor came up to me and pointed at the cover page of the information guide for the program and said: “See that girl standing at the back? It’s me when I was a medical student. I have been coming for this conference for the past four years because it is very good. I have gained so much knowledge, skills and most importantly confidence. Thank you so much for doing this.”

I could not help but give her hug and feel so proud of her. There is nothing more you can ask for from any global health program than improvement, creation of awareness and gratitude from the target population. This trip was definitely worth its 36 hour travel itinerary.

–        By Gippsland student Hemma Valluvan

Fourteen Year 2 students spent two weeks in Mildura for their rural immersion and, apart from clinical observations, the students experienced some exciting aspects of country life which they might not have otherwise seen.

Amazing Race

Students gained a very quick introduction to Mildura by forming teams led by a Year 3 student and navigating to find various Mildura landmarks / locations. As part of the ‘Amazing Race’ a small task had to be performed at each spot.

The race took students and their drivers-in-the-know across the width and breadth of the city, before finishing at the clinical school for a sausage sizzle.

The ‘race’ has been used previously with new students and is an immensely popular and fun-packed activity for both new and existing students … and the staff!

Tracking a friendly roo – well, hopefully friendly – is all part of the experience for Mildura students taking part in the amazing race.

Farm visit

Students looked a bit tentative as they ‘helped’ with the calf gelding exercise.

Each year the Year 2 students are introduced to the realities of outback farming while learning about animal-borne diseases under the guidance of local veterinarian Dr Bill Sutherland.

This semester, their animal observations included pregnancy testing on cows, and gelding calves.

Mungo national park tour

A day trip to the Mungo National Park, about 110 kilometres north east of Mildura, which encompasses The Walls of China always has its surprises!

Rose and Michael Gilby escorted the bus-load of students to Mungo, and also provided a fascinating overview of the area’s cultural history and importance to local tribal groups.  Remains of the earliest known humans to inhabit the Australian continent have been found in Mungo National Park, dating back to nearly 40,000 years ago. Mungo is thus the site of one of earth’s longest continuous human habitations. Originally a vast lake system, the current lunar-type landscape of the region is fascinating including the so-called Walls of China shapes.

While the students were exploring the Park, Nadine and Jenny were trying to staff the barbecue but were terrorised by the local crows who obviously hadn’t seen human food for a long time. They (the crows, that is) diligently pecked their way through the sides of plastic containers to get to the bread; since they had already made off with two tubs of butter it was appropriate that the bread would be their next target.