Malawi Elective Rotation for 4Th Year TCOM, PA Students and Core
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Malawi Elective Rotation for 4th year TCOM, PA students and Core ROME Surgery Rotation-2020 FAQ’s How long is the rotation? The Malawi elective rotation is a four-week rotation in the month of January, 1/6/2020-1/31/2020, February 3-28 and March 2-27th. Malawi Travel information • Students should plan to arrive in Lilongwe Sunday prior to their rotation and depart Friday of their final week. Any deviations should be cleared in advance. Students in the January rotation, please arrive on January 5 or 6th. • A wide selection of flights can be found by using www.google.com/flights. It is recommended that after selecting your flight, you book the ticket with the major carrier of your flight. You are advised to purchase a refundable ticket or purchase insurance to cover an emergency flight change or cancellation. • You can also book on Priceline.com, Expedia or any number of other sites. Google.com/flights gives the widest selection of flights to begin your search. • Students can contact each other about their flights but they should arrive on January 5 or 6th • Dr. Podgore recommends only obtaining your visa upon arrival in Malawi at the airport which currently is $75 US dollars (cash only). Estimated Expenses • Airfare: DFW to LLW $1300 - $2200 • Lodging, food, laundry for four weeks $125 per week • Visa to enter Malawi $75 • Medical Council of Malawi – Student permit $150 • Tip for cook/houseboy (your choice) • Transportation (Fuel is $15 a gallon) $50 • Other miscellaneous expenses or purchases $200 Where will I stay in Malawi while on rotation? You will be staying with Dr. and Mrs. Podgore in their house on the campus of Daeyang Luke Hospital and University, founded and operated by a South Korean charity. The facilities are located in a rural area outside Lilongwe between Kamuzu International Airport and the city of Lilongwe. The house is adjacent to the Daeyang Luke Hospital which is a 180-bed unit. Housing is encircled by a tall brick fence that was built to deter crime but also to prevent the hyenas from entering and chewing up the tires on the vehicles. Guards are on duty 24-hours a day. It is safe to run/walk outside if you are exercising. Females must run with a companion if they venture outside the main hospital gate and must adhere to the general dress code guidelines. The center of Lilongwe is approximately 4 miles from the campus and is easily accessible by car or minibus. The Podgore home is well built and functional, especially compared to Malawi standards. There are two small student bedrooms, each with two twin beds and mosquito nets. The bedrooms have locking wardrobes and there are locks on the bedrooms doors. Two electrical outlets are located in each of the bedrooms to plug in computers, phones, etc. The electricity is 220 volt. Computers and smart phones need no transformer but they will need a British-type 220 plug. These bedrooms share a bath with a shower. The house is not air-conditioned but every room has a portable fan. There is no Wi-Fi but a MY-FI device can be purchased at the local phone company or obtained from a previous student to provide Wi-Fi access. You will be issued a local cell phone to call locally but not internationally. Skype and Gmail will work with the MY-FI device. James, the cook and houseboy, has worked for the Podgore’s for several years. He likes to cook and his favorite food is any dessert! He cleans, does the laundry and keeps the house running smoothly from Monday morning until Friday afternoon. He is good and trustworthy. What sites will I be working at? The Malawi rotation currently has several different sites: 1) Daeyang Luke Hospital: This is a private 180-bed hospital adjacent to the housing compound. Pediatrics, IM, OB, General Surgery and Casualty Care (emergency room) are available. It is smaller and a little slower paced than Kamuzu Central Hospital, but easy to access, more organized, more teaching staff and there are options for evening emergency room and surgery. 2) Kamuzu Central Hospital: Large public hospital in Lilongwe, VERY limited resources, overcrowded, but a great experience to learn all kinds of pathology. OB/GYN started as a Norwegian outreach and now Baylor OB/GYN runs a very efficient and international OB/GYN fellowship. Patients have a good antenatal and postnatal care, however, still with limited resources. Dr. Makin is the director of OB/GYN at Daeyang Luke Hospital with a busy hospital and outreach practice. She is an excellent mentor and allows you to develop your OB/GYN skills under supervision. 3) Baylor HIV Pediatrics Clinic- adjacent to Kamuzu (BIPA-Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative), associated with Baylor Medical School and Texas Children’s Hospital focuses on pediatric HIV management. The facilities are very nice, it is well organized and the teaching is excellent. Our students are able to spend part of their time at the Baylor Unit. 4) A very active pediatric oncology unit has been recently established at Kamuzu Hospital which is well equipped and very active in student and resident teaching. 5) The fistula clinic at Bwaila Women’s Hospital is a new site and is an excellent opportunity to experience fistula repair surgery. 6) Cincinnati Children’s Pediatric residency program staffs the Kamuzu Pediatric ER and ward. They are very accommodating in involving our students and residents in their program. 7) Active and student friendly general surgery, internal medicine, and urology specialties are located at the Daeyang Hospital with various visiting physicians from the US and other countries. The hospital is one of the surgical trauma centers for the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons. Malawi Basics • Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa and is bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. • The capital city of Malawi is Lilongwe, a city of more than a million people located in the Central Region of the country • Population is 19 million people; 85% are subsistence farmers • Malawii is the approximate size of the state of Pennsylvania • HIV/AIDS: 11 percent (2015 estimate) • One of the poorest countries in the world; Per Capita income is $230. • Electrification is present in 9 percent of the population, the lowest in Africa • The official language is English; the national language is Chichewa. All the health care records and rounds are in English (mostly British style). Streets are signposted in English as are signs on commercial buildings. Clerks in the local stores speak English. Many patients from the village will speak only Chichewa but the Malawi health workers will translate for you. • The monetary unit is the Malawian Kwacha. The rate of exchange is about MK 725 to $1. • Religion: Christian: 79.9%; Muslim: 12.8 %; Other; 3%; None: 4% • Poverty and inequality remain stubbornly high in Malawi. Applications Selections will commence on a rolling basis from June 1 and continue until available positions are filled. If further information is needed, please contact: Stacy Abraham [email protected] X2354 .