THE ELECTIVE EXPERIENCE: 30 DAYS IN PRETORIA

Greetings Kings and Queens,

So I finally summoned the nerve and nostalgia needed to write this piece. It would have been totally unforgivable if I didn’t put pen to paper for this one despite how lazy a writer I am. I have probably just witnessed one of the most amazing 30 days of my life and it’s important this one stands in posterity (unlike many other pieces). It’s a chronicle of activities around my elective placement at the University of Pretoria. For those unaware, medical students from the University of Lagos, are usually given a month off in their final year to go take up elective placement at other Universities of health facilities within and outside the country. This is to expand the horizon of medical students whilst broadening their experience and knowledge base.

The Hustle

I had thought the biggest challenge for me would be deciding where to go for my electives. Lol…how I thought so wrong! I had so many fantasies squashed before finally resorting to South Africa. God and His ways, who knew a last resort could become a best resort for electives? I had to first deal with the needless bureaucracy of my school – from searching for my file to losing it again to motivating staff with Juice packs to have work done, it was such a struggle! Then the online hustle was one to remember. I probably sent more mails this past year than I’ve ever sent in my whole life. Browsing and web searching was also endless, with over 30 tabs of web pages at times on my browser. You think all is done, when you make headway with all these till you get to the last and final stage – visa application! We practically had to fight for our visa to South Africa; we didn’t believe we were made to go through such a struggle to get to another African country. The famous ‘okada’ ride over Ojuelegba Bridge to get our travel insurance on the last Friday before travel is one I won’t forget too quickly – the struggle was real!

The Hospital

I was to take rotation in the Paediatric Departments of Steve Biko Academic Hospital and Kalafong Hospital, both teaching institutions for medical students of University of Pretoria. I looked forward to the experience and built up a lot in my very wild imagination. My first visit to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital had me in total awe; for the very first time, I didn’t feel like I was in a hospital when I was actually in one. I shed inner tears for its equivalent back home; it would probably take us years of demolishing and starting afresh to bring ours up to that level.

I spent the most of my first week at Steve Biko, working first with the Acute Paediatric team and then later in the Paediatric Hematology/Nephrology/Endocrinology. It was a fantastic experience seeing patient management from such an improved angle.

First, there was an electronic patient flow that calls out patients’ ticket numbers once it’s their turn to be attended to. Then, there was a patient record system that enabled health personnel access patient details online, this usually includes past, present and pending investigations done and their results, patient’s previous encounters with the hospital etc. 

The wards were always kept tidy and clean, hygiene was a definitely a big deal! I can’t even count the number of times I washed or sprayed my hands daily, and they never run out of soap and hand sanitizers. The fact that they had health insurance working also helped a lot. Medical supplies hardly go ‘out-of-stock’ and patients don’t need to pay or buy ‘materials’ before they are attended to. This also means you can request an MRI for a peasant because he doesn’t have to pay out of pocket. Also, unlike LUTH, patients actually do get better after admission.

Part of my first week was also spent at Tshwane District Hospital, their secondary level hospital which connects to Steve Biko via an interesting tunnel. I would come here mostly in the afternoon to attend to emergency cases at the Emergency Section and most importantly get to learn procedures. 

The staffs were delighted to have enthusiastic Nigerians help out with the enormous work they had in their hands. It wasn’t uncommon for nurses to come over and ask you to come and help catheterize patients, set IVs or draw blood. I also learnt to suture and put up POPs on patients (I still need a few more lessons though). We were made to take up patients, and manage them independently and it was fantastic!

The next two weeks would take me to Kalafong Hospital, a tertiary hospital in the suburbs, not as super-specialised as Steve Biko was. My experience there was easily the most remarkable. I was exposed to a huge foray of General Paediatric cases, assigned patients and presented severally at the very educative ward rounds we had. That ward was an enthralling experience for me; watching kids come in fatally ill only to start chasing you all around days later. It was an absolute delight. The Peete twins are probably the biggest culprits with what they did to me one morning; I call it the ‘Morning Rush’. They ran after me in circles till I was panting! I also did quite a lot of ward work – setting IVs, drawing blood and all. The kids had small veins but strong muscles, so it was such a struggle each time. 

I notably presented cases at both their Immunology session and Morning meeting amidst Professors and Consultants from the department and I got very encouraging commendations afterwards. The calls were also huge learning platforms for me, who wouldn’t enjoy a call with a room to oneself with dinner and breakfast served?

My last week would bring me back to Steve Biko, its Neonatology section. It was a different experience altogether dealing with preterm babies and jaundiced newborns. I was working with such a hardworking team of student interns. We would see our patients and proceed to the daily routine – setting IVs and drawing blood from their very tiny and tender veins. We also had a stint at the theatre witnessing paediatric routine care for newborns (i.e. APGARs and all). 

Most eventful was my call with Maxwell, drawing blood for blood cultures from twins. I ended up drawing blood from up to 7 neonates that day.

In comparison to LUTH, the three hospitals I rotated through had a few things in common – fantastic patient records system, effective laboratory services, medical insurance and highly motivated staff in a well maintained, healthy environment. Sadly, we have hardly made any headway in any of these areas.

The People

An integral part of my visit to any place would have to be the interesting people I meet and in Pretoria I met a quite good number. I was able to build a very good relationship with the students and doctors I worked with and I hope they will be lasting bonds. I must say, the best Consultant I worked was Dr. Snyman. He was such a gentleman; ward rounds with him were a unique learning experience each time and he never makes you look bad even if don’t know anything. Dr. Thomas, my American Medical Officer at Kalafong would stand out as one of the most interesting doctors I met. Her head was a bag full of everything Paediatrics and she was hardworking to a fault. I also enjoyed working with Drs. Nakedi, Oupa and Mokaba; they were by far the most interesting Interns (that’s what they call Houseofficers). Amongst the students, Jabulani was the first real friend I made. He was my neighbor and we shared lots of interesting moments teaching each other how to eat our different native delicacies. 

Then, there was the amazing quartet of myself, Maxwell, Chris and Gavin. I had most of my calls at Kalafong with these guys. Maxwell was the funny one, super lively and hardworking as well. Calls with him were always busy – it’s such a jinx! Then, there’s Chris ‘my boeta’ (means my brother in Afrikaans) – the cool, calm and collected one. I’ll remember him for dropping me off at Kalafong every now and then, jamming South African hits along the way. Now, Gavin must be the most interesting character I met; down to earth and real! His conduct was one I easily learned from and his passion for medicine was palpable. Before you all think I’m gay, let’s talk about ladies now. 

The most fascinating thing about South African ladies would have to be their very impressive backsides…lol! I wish I could go any further expatiating but that’s story for when you meet me personally ;). So there was Danielle and Marie-Louise, the white ladies I met at Steve Biko. They were kind and always willing to help out. I spent more time around Virginia and Palesa though. Virginia is virtually the only person from Botswana I know and she makes me want to think all the people there are just as jovial and fun-to-be-with as she is (even though they’ve got more cows than human beings in that country). Palesa was easily the most beautiful black South African girl I met; she was so beautiful in and out, I almost fell! But yeah I held strong mehn!

Team Pretoria

30 days in Pretoria would probably not have been such a tale if it weren’t for the fabulous team of Royals that came along – Seyi, Rahman, Olaolu, Adaugo, Laju, GKK and Azeez aka Armani! This team was packed with all the wit, craziness and razzmatazz you need for any trip to totally rock! We had such an amazing time and shared an unflinching bond out there. 

Seyi would always take up mother role trying to restore a bit of sanity amidst such a crazy bunch of people. She was also very nice and easy to talk to. 

Rahman was the roomie; I probably saw a different side to him during our stay. He had a strong passion for excelling clinically and we shared such good chats and laughs. Now, for Adaugo and Laju, it’s hard to talk about one without involving the other. Those ladies balance each other out very nicely. Adaugo’s love for adventure was balance Laju’s composure and good sense of judgement. I also did not know there were as nice as they turned out to be. Then we come to crazy duo of Armani and Laolu – those boys were something else. Armani came a week later than we did, so we didn’t get to see Laolu’s true nature till he arrived. Those boys bring the worst out of each other. Armani was famous for originating a popular slang describing SA as ‘The Streets of Falcao’. Interestingly, I also discovered they both had a serious side as well. GKK was legendary especially with his numerous adjectives. He was also always exceedingly dramatic, adding largely to the comedy of the team. His famous poses and picture shots would never be forgotten ‘on the streets of falcao’.

We also shared lovely moments with our visits to various tourist attractions in South Africa. Our visit to Gold Reef City was most remarkable. They had the most amazing rollercoasters and we probably had our hearts in our mouths riding most of them.

I particularly reckon GKK wanting to back out at the entrance to the Anaconda – the most dangerous rollercoaster with a fear factor of 9/10, after we had queued for more than an hour. It was too funny!

However, having dinner at the girls’ guesthouse would probably stand as most of our cherished moments. We felt so much like a family! We would talk and make a hell of a noise (their landlady didn’t find this funny – noisy Nigerians!) At times, we would also skype with other Royals around the world – Rukayat, Lola, Dami, Toke and Tolu Abidogun most notably. At other times, we would feed our eyes and mouth with the enormity of ‘PAP’ littered all over South African streets (only Team Pretoria would get the punJ)

I had a hell of a time these past weeks, Pretoria was such a blessing. Share your own story – back home, abroad? How was it for you?

YUSUF SHITTU