Northumbria University 2018
My father was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Ghana. During the 80s, he worked in Kumasi in a place called Swami Magazine — an area the size of a town that supplies spare parts to Ghana's junker cars.
I made a point of visiting the magazine to see where my dad worked when he was my age. Walking the streets of the magazine during late afternoon was an incredible experience and something I won’t soon forget.
During my time in Ghana, I lived in a house with other healthcare students — Irish student midwives, Australian student medics and Canadian student dentists. It was a unique experience, akin to living with my best friends from work. Everyone was there for the same reason, to experience their own specialisation within medicine but in a completely new setting.
With different approaches to teaching and the varied levels of experience in numerous disciplines, living in a house of fellow students was a fantastic opportunity to learn from people from all over the world.
Interprofessional learning was the norm. Whether over breakfast or in the pool, we reviewed the cases we’d seen that day or thought we might see in future.
In the afternoons and evenings after placement, our time in Takoradi was split between the house, local markets, and the beaches. On days with good weather, we’d organise to go directly from our placement hospital to a beach. We spent our afternoons relaxing and catching some sun.
On other days, we visited Market Circle and took time walking through the lanes, browsing the huge number of fabrics and beads for sale.
Weekends were fantastic opportunities to see the sights of Southern Ghana.
After spending a week traveling around Kumasi on my own, I travelled to Mole National Park with the people I’d met in the house. This will be an experience that stays with me for the rest of my life.
Fulfilling my lifelong dream of going on Safari is something I can’t put into words. Seeing elephants in the wild and having good friends around me during it all made the experience that much more special.
The whole experience was amazing and helped give context to everything I’d done during my placement.
I encourage anyone considering traveling with Work the World to think about the potential for spending an extra week or more in the country of your choice. The experience is amazing and helps put everything you’ve done during your placement into context.
