Charlotte Eastick

Charlotte is a 2nd year Occupational Therapy student. She recently spent 6 weeks undertaking an Occupational Therapy placement in Tanzania with a peer from the university. Collectively they managed to raise nearly £1000 towards the cost of the placement through their incredible fundraising. 

At the end of our first year of university, we were informed about undertaking an overseas Occupational Therapy placement. With the opportunity to travel somewhere new and understand the differences between the NHS and paid healthcare services, I knew instantly that I would regret it if I didn’t sign myself up! 

My first impression of the hospital was that is was massive! It was like a village. The OT departments were dotted around the hospital - including physical health, paediatrics and psychiatry.  Compared to back at home in the UK, the occupational therapy rooms were very small, often filled with patients awaiting OT treatment. 

This overseas placement has provided me with a wide variety of professional and personal skills. However, I felt as though my communication skills developed the most during this placement.

During my time in physical health, I spent a few sessions with a little boy who was diagnosed with autism. We engaged in various activities with him, including sensory integration and learning through play. At the end of the second session we had with him, he came up to us and gave us the biggest hug. I will always treasure that moment! 

We learnt a lot from the OT staff and were interested to hear about their types of clinical reasoning skills compared to how we would provide this in the UK. For example, OT’s often use models to help guide their intervention process and we were informed that some of the models don’t reflect Tanzanian culture which made it difficult for staff to use the models as efficiently as they would like. It made me reflect and wonder how we could adapt Occupational Therapy models to become universal. 

At times, there was naturally a language barrier, but this placement allowed me to put into practice my basic Swahili language. By doing so, I developed my adaptability skills, and initiative and most importantly, I began to build a rapport with patients receiving OT interventions. Towards the end of the placement, it was lovely to have proper conversations with patients in Swahili! 

On placement I learned how thermoplastic splints were made - they melted and moulded down PVC material to make splints which I thought was such an innovative idea. 

The house in Dar es Salaam was great. It was lovely and spacious with a lounge to chill in and watch films, a balcony where you could chill out and a lovely swimming pool. 

The team was amazing and only ever a phone call away, they were always willing to help with whatever we needed. 

After placement, we would all go and explore Dar a little more. Slipway is close by and is packed full of bars and restaurants. On weekends I went further afield, one weekend I went to Zanzibar where we fed tortoises and went on a dolphin tour. Another weekend I went on safari which was incredible. 

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