Note for other medical students

I've decided to write a final post for any medical students thinking about going to Helena Goldie as I've noticed I'm getting a bit of traffic from google searches.

I can highly recommend the elective as I really had a wonderful time. It does depend what you're looking for though. 

Helena Goldie Hospital - looking towards the office and operating theatre

The Solomons are very expensive to get to from the UK in terms of flights and whilst buying fresh food at the markets is cheap, it wasn't the cheapest elective I could have had. 

In terms of accommodation I first stayed at Robina House at the hospital which is a really lovely little house, ideal for medical students. All payments go to the hospital as well so staying there is supporting the hospital. However it does mean that if you want to go into town and to go diving/shopping/to the hotel for a drink, it's a 30 min walk (each way) in the heat. With the sun going down at around 6pm every night it also means you have to leave before dark. If you're there with other medical students though you can do the walk in the dark as long as you have a couple of good torches (head-torches are ideal). Just watch out for crabs and frogs on the path.

Qua Roviana Guesthouse

For these reasons, I chose to stay at Qua Roviana, a guesthouse in town for the remainder of my stay. It was a bit cheaper, and in town so meant I could be a bit more sociable in the evenings. I don't think they have a website but if you want to contact them the easiest way would be via the Jen or Graeme at the dive shop. However, if you choose not to stay at Robina House, Helena Goldie hospital will charge you an elective fee so it's worth finding out the costs of everything before you decide.

Here's a link to the hospital website:http://hghospital.jimdo.com/

Medical Stuff:

If you want to go to a 3rd World Country where you get to manage your own patients and run clinics and operate on patients then Helena Goldie probably isn't right for that. There are enough doctors at the hospital to go around really, and so you will not be able to have free reign. However, you will get to assist in operations, and will be asked for your opinion on management of patients during ward rounds. You will also be able to 'essentially' run your own outpatient clinics with one of the other doctors around for help and opinions (to make any final decisions). So you can get a lot out of it if you make the effort. It's a great place to improve your basic examination and diagnostic skills as they don't have even fairly basic blood tests (U&Es, LFTs). 

Drs Graham and Jenny have a blog which they update periodically (as their internet access is very limited) which might help you understand a bit more. I'm sure they'd also be happy to be contacted.

http://grahamandjenny.co.uk/

The best part of my trip to Munda was the diving! The water is generally warm (30degrees even when 30m down), and the visibility is (usually) incredible. If you've never scuba-dived before I can highly recommend learning with DiveMunda. If you are already a diver then you'll absolutely love it and there's plenty to see. If you prefer snorkelling then you really wont be disappointed and it is cheaper. Tetepare Island is a MUST for a visit - really a wonderful example of responsible tourism. And if you're interested in the WWII history of the Island, then get Barney to take you on a tour (and watch the Pacific TV series).

Dive Munda Website: http://www.mundadive.com/home.htm

Sunset from Agnes Lodge

Last days as a Tie Vaka

(Tie Vaka is the colloquial term for foreigners – roughly translated as ‘newly arrived in a boat’)

Honiara chinese: lobster and duck - yum!

I left Munda yesterday with mixed feelings. I was looking forward to spending Christmas with my family for the first time in over 10 years, and Rich’s first hot Christmas (he still thinks it’s weird!). On the other hand, I was very sad to leave all the lovely people that I’ve met and made friends with in Munda. There are some fascinating people living and working in that town, and I was made to feel a part of the community, albeit a fairly transient part. All in all, it felt very strange to get on that plane after a very quick 6 weeks. 

I very quickly cheered up on landing in Seghe when Mia and her boyfriend Zak boarded the plane to join us on the trip to Honiara. We spent the rest of the flight catching up and gossiping about the travellers we’d met in the last couple of weeks. We shared a cab into town, and after settling in to my hotel, I met up with them again that afternoon for some souvenir shopping. Then we all went out for a fantastic Chinese meal. It’s really great to have their company in the city, and I’ve repaid the favour by letting them use the shower in my hotel room because the place they’re staying has got no running water at the moment (it is free though!). First hot water Mia has had in 10 weeks. 

So, today, after a few hours chilling in the best coffee shop (only coffee shop?) in town I shall be heading off to the airport and heading back to Brisbane. It’s been a wonderful few weeks and I’m sad that it’s over – for anyone thinking of doing an elective here, I recommend it very highly. 

Life as a tie vaka has been pretty cool!

The swimming pool at the hotel (a worthwhile extravagance!)

Final weekend in Munda

Friday evening was a fairly quiet one owing to the fact that I’d had my first coffee in 6 weeks the night before, meaning that I wasn’t able to sleep for hours! So I joined my Munda mates for a few sundowners and a bit of banter over the cricket (sometimes it’s good being surrounded by Australians!), but I faded early so that I could be fresh for my final day’s diving.

Saturday was a spectacularly beautiful day and I tried to really enjoy the scenery knowing it would be the last time I went out on the boat to the reefs and nearby islands. The diving was pretty incredible too. Thanks to the excellent teaching of Jen and Graeme, I really felt like a diver in the water, and my dive buddy Sam, who I did my course with was always calm and I think we both felt at ease. We did 2 dives, and saw quite a bit – several reef sharks and bumphead parrot fish (ugliest fish I’ve ever seen), barracuda and clownfish, not to mention a rather scary attack from a trigger fish. Trigger fish are aggressive little things with nasty sharp teeth that will take a good bite out of you (through wetsuits although we weren’t wearing any) about the size of a £1 (AUS$2) coin. I was a little jumpy, but Graeme managed to kick it away quite effectively with his fins.

Dive Buddy Sam

Sam and I both managed our underwater drills with no problems and even the mask removing one was fine for me. So now we are both properly qualified open water divers which is great as it means I can now dive anywhere. I might be avoiding Sharm el Sheikh for the time being though!

One downside of the day spent diving is that I was left with a bit of a farmer burn (I can’t tan so can’t get a farmer tan). It had pretty much faded by Sunday though so hopefully I don’t look TOO ridiculous. Sunday was spent relaxing and playing cards. Incidentally, if anyone is looking for a good card game, ‘Monopoly Deals’ cards are a much better game than Monopoly the board game and I highly recommend them as a Christmas present for your family. Then I sat watching my final Munda sunset with a group of friends over beers and g&ts, giving Roger and the Aussies stick for the cricket (did I mention it’s great being surrounded by Aussies this week?!).

Ah, I’m going to miss Munda!