Wenchi Methodist Hospital, Ghana

Country: 
GHANA
Sector: 
Healthcare and Medical Services

An ideal placement for medical students seeking an ‘elective’, Wenchi Methodist Hospital, with a bed complement of 100, is a district referral hospital for a largely rural surrounding population. Welcoming staff and excellent accommodation ensure a great experience for nurses or doctors in training. A typical 4-6 week placement costs approximately £2000. This includes air fares, visa, insurance and the Christians Abroad administration fee. A modular preparation course helps students to get the most out of the experience.

The hospital has the following departments or units:

Out-patient facilities comprising (Out Patient Department)

In-patient facilities comprising Female Ward   (combining Medical and Surgical cases), Children’s Ward  (combining Medical and Surgical cases), Male War (combining Medical and Surgical cases),Maternity Ward, Isolation Ward, Emergency Room, Public Health Unit, Eye Clinic.

The Hospital has the following support services: Theatre, Laboratory, Pharmacy,X-ray. There is a mortuary which offers efficient cold storage facilities for dead bodies for preservation and post-mortems.

Students fly in to Kotoka International Airport, Ghana. They are then met by the Christians Abroad Field Officer for Ghana, and taken to the Calvary Methodist Guest house for the night. They are collected and taken to the airport the next day for a connecting flight to Sunyani, where they are met by a member of the hospital staff, who drives them to Wenchi.

Students make a voluntary donation for accommodation which is provided by the hospital.

Rachel, a trainee nurse writes: “The hospital guest apartment was amazing – it exceeded all my expectations and was great for close proximity to the hospital. The food in Ghana was great and for my first few nights in hospital accommodation the hospital cook came to help me with food but after that I cooked for myself."

Rebecca, a trainee doctor, has recently returned from Ghana. She writes: 

 “I planned my trip to Wenchi Methodist Hospital with the help of Christians Abroad, a charity which supports volunteers travelling to Christian projects around the world. They were really helpful – I’d recommend them to anyone planning some adventuring! It was interesting going from the very secular NHS to a place where all the doctors pray together at the start of every meeting. They are a great witness to their community; they won’t turn away anyone who can’t pay, even though the hospital’s finances are incredibly tight. After living alone for a while in an apartment owned by the hospital, I was blessed by the arrival of Grace, a Ghanaian nurse, who stayed with me for a few weeks. She became my Ghanaian mother and taught me how to cook goat stews. She was also hilarious company, as well as being one of the most kind-hearted people I’ve ever met.”

Bethany, another student nurse, writes:
"The assessment and improvisation skills I developed in Ghana will undoubtedly benefit my future career as a nurse, wherever I end up nursing. The experience provided me with a range of skills that I would not have gained at home. Assisting in caesarean sections and delivering a little baby boy are just two examples of my most memorable moments of my trip. International elective placements not only challenge your knowledge base but they develop your competence and provide transferable skills. Studying tropical diseases is much more interesting when you gain first-hand experience of conditions such as typhoid, malaria, cholera and more. My trip also taught me to value our current healthcare system by comparing the reality of healthcare in a developing country. Most importantly, I think the experience reinforced the underlying reason of why I became a nurse, to follow Jesus’ example of reaching the outcasts, the broken and the lost. My experiences refreshed my desire to continue my education and complete my nursing degree to the best of my ability. My short 6 week trip to Ghana showed me just a tiny glimpse of how God views our broken world. Despite the challenges I faced and the heart-wrenching situations I found myself in, I do not regret any stage of the experience. Although Ghana was the scariest and most difficult experience of my 21 years so far, I am extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to go. I would like to thank EMMS International for their financial support, I was blown away by God’s provision through their bursary scheme. I am also very thankful to Christians Abroad for their contribution every step of the way in ensuring everything was organised and we were safe throughout."