Hello! My name is Faith Speights and I am a senior majoring in Public Health with a concentration in Health Education and Promotion and a minor in Global Health.
I participated in the faculty-led Global Health abroad journey to Ghana, Africa. Monday- Friday my days consist of working at various hospital settings observing the doctor to patient care. One of those hospital settings is the Elmina Polyclinic. The polyclinic provides quality care for patients in the local area.
We observed the different units in the clinic such as the general ward which consisted of patients that needed to be admitted and observed. This unit consisted of mainly infants who had been diagnosed with malaria and needed IVs. Another unit was the emergency area, where patients who needed immediate help were placed. This unit had various groups of people suffering from a wide array of things such as severe acid reflux, malnutrition, strokes, and ulcers. The maternity unit consisted of patients receiving both prenatal and postnatal care. In this area we observed cervix membrane swabbing, c-sections, and vaginal births. The lab unit was very cool. This is where people were tested for H-Pylori, Malaria, Typhoid, Retroviral disease, and Pregnancy test. The blood department unit is where the different blood types were kept for blood transfusions. It is also where people went to donate blood. Another unit was the Public Health area. This is where all of the immunizations are done to prevent disease outbreaks. We observed vaccines for Malaria, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Rabies, Tetanus, Polio, and chickenpox. The Polyclinic also had a pharmacy unit where patients could receive their prescriptions. The last unit was the consulting room. This is where we spent the majority of our time. In this area the doctor questions the symptoms and creates a diagnosis that is then confirmed or denied by the lab results.