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

Final Market

Friday was my last ‘market day’ in Munda. There’s a market every day, but the market on Friday is usually quite a bit bigger and people travel from all over to sell their wares, and obviously others to buy.  It usually means that there’s a greater variety of foods available and you can even get pineapples! It’s a great day to stock up on veggies as the quality is usually a bit better.

The atmosphere is always more vibrant and one of the local ‘supermarkets’ hires a guy to make sales pitches on a loudspeaker for all the town to hear. I can hear it from my room so by 4pm I’m usually very keen for the shop to close. After the markets and shops finish, the drinking begins in earnest. The nearby Cava bar is generally buzzing, and although they’re usually relatively well behaved, the work for the policemen tends to increase on Fridays.

Interestingly, the influx of people to the area also leads to an influx of people to the clinic at the hospital, and Dr Jenny and the other doctors are usually run off their feet for the day. It seems that most people can get lifts with their relatives who are coming to sell their wares and so they generally bring their entire family for checkups. 

Payback......

I moved into the main town last week after Tetepare with the other med students, and have stayed once they both left. The hostel/motel place that I’m in is great and quite a bit cheaper and even has satellite tv in the lounge.

However, the other people staying here are all male, and I think most are Malaysian workers. They are very polite and friendly, but all of this week they commandeered the tv and have been watching WWE (wrestling), all day and night. They’ve also found it amusing to play music from about 5am in the next room and unfortunately the walls are paper thin.

So, yesterday I got home from the hospital and politely asked if they knew if the cricket (Ashes) were on the tv. So they changed it for me and I spent all afternoon watching the England batting – a fun afternoon despite the depressing performance towards the end (or Siddle’s impressive performance depending on which side you’re on)

Today I got back to find the tv unattended so sat down and put the cricket on again. People kept walking into the lounge looking at the tv with disappointment. A few have asked me who won or if it’s the highlights from yesterday. I have to say I quite enjoy watching their faces fall when I tell them it’s the same game, but this is day 2 of 5! I don’t think they quite realised how long a game of cricket takes. One canny person got the better of me by boldly sitting IN my chair where my phone and laptop and keys were, changing the channel in the 5 minutes it took me to put my washing on. I didn’t have the guts to protest but just sat behind them until they both got a bit bored or maybe they felt guilty and left me the remote.

Luckily for them I’ll be spending tomorrow finishing my PADI diving course so they will be able to watch wrestling to their hearts’ content.