Day 2 in the clinic

Today was my second day working in the clinic. Instead of following the doctor around, I stayed with the medical assistant, Oppong, and helped him with the patients. On a given day, Oppong sees more patients and writes more prescriptions than Dr. Boadum. There was a constant stream of patients. Majority of the patients were diagnosed with a combination of malaria, gastroenteritis, or heart burn. The communication barrier was difficult to deal with at times. When I was asking for a medical history and diagnosing, Oppong frequently had to translate into Twi. On top of the normal patients, there are Liberians seeking clearance to travel. They come in with forms that clear them of any serious medical conditions. The patients were constantly streaming in from about 9:30 when I arrived at work until 2:30 when Oppong decided to stop taking patients. He did not take a break between those times, and neither did I. It was exhausting at times. The medical examination is very different than what I have come to know in the US. In the US, the standard medical examination is heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, examine eyes and ears, and test reflexes in certain cases. Here, Oppong literally just touches the person's eyelid to check for anemia, looks at their eyes and hands to check for jaundice, touches the person's neck to feel the temperature, and then decides based on the conditions what to prescribe. I thought the use of penicillin was high in the US because of parents insisting to the doctor that their child is sick. Here, almost every person was asked to get multiple labs done and given multiple medicines. Almost every one is given anti-malaria medicines and tested for malaria with a widal test, FBC, and mps.
At the end of the day, one of the nurses, Gifty, and the pharmacist were talking to me about music and dancing. I told them I had heard of Azonto and they asked me to dance. I showed them my American moves (aka the shopping cart and lawn mower). They were also teaching me a little bit of Twi, the local dialect. I took two emergency patients after Oppong left. Finally, at about 4, the day was over.
Today, I found out a bit more about education in the medical field. For a doctor, after senior high, they go to medical school for 7 years. To become a nurse, they go to nursing school after senior high and either receive a certificate (less time required) or a degree. One of the nurses, Aggie, is working on her degree. The degree is accepted in the US and she is hoping to move to the US because her fiance is currently there. To become a pharmacist, after senior high you go to Pharmacy school for about 6 months. Medical assistants have not gone to university, but they are more qualified than nurses. Based on my time with Oppong, it is apparent that he sees and prescribes like a typical American doctor in an office. According to Aggie, one of the nurses, nurses in Ghana do not make nearly as much money as the doctors. She said it is less than half of the doctors salary and less than 1/4 of what nurses make in America. The nurses previously went on strike and as a result, their salary was increased slightly.
It is still pretty astounding how different both the education and the facilities are between the US and Ghana. I will work on providing pictures, but essentially the clinic is a building with two stories and other trailers set up outside. There is no air conditioning. There are very few electronic pieces available. The doctor has an old GE sonogram and has a better heart rate monitor for surgery, but aside from that there are no big electronic pieces. I think that temporary hospitals in war zones that US military doctors use are better equipped and have better facilities. Despite all this, the hospital makes it work. They are supported by the Point Hope mission, which donates equipment and sponsors patients who cannot afford their bills.