My name is Audi Stephanie, currently a finalist student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery. I have had the wonderful opportunity of studying in Kenyatta University, in Nairobi Kenya for the last almost 6 years, and soon I'll be completing my studies in this wonderful institution that has shaped my journey as a student of Medicine.
During my elective term last year, I participated in a virtual exchange program with Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Mbarara, Uganda under the AFREhealth program for Interprofessional Education. This experience was extended to us through GEMx Africa. I was absolutely enthusiastic about being a participant of the program given that I had initially applied to be a physical exchange student via GEMx to Uganda, a country I've always looked forward to interacting with its people and health systems. Unfortunately, COVID-19 infection prevention measures at the time did not allow us to travel. Nonetheless, when the idea of having the same experience virtually was extended, I was not only excited to see how far technology can be used to enhance global learning but also for the opportunity to be in a team of students with varied training backgrounds in health care. In school, more often than not, I would frequently interact and do classroom projects with students in Medicine. However, clinical learning pushed me to extend my relationship to students in Nursing and Pharmacy because in the hospital, we all manage the same patients.
The IPE program gave me better working relationships with my colleagues in other discipline as well as bettered my team setting attitude. Moreover, we were being mentored by extremely seasoned faculty from MUST, Dr Gad Ruzaaza and Dr Winfred Arubaku. Through their mentorship, we were made comfortable in our virtual field which was all the way in South-Western Uganda and we were shown the guiding lights of assessing a health gap effectively in a systematic and solution-oriented manner.
My team got connected to people who serve in various capacities within the health care system in South-Western Uganda, from clinicians to Public Health workers and we discussed our topic of interest: How COVID-19 affected service delivery. The response was vibrant and comprehensive. Over the 6 weeks course, we managed to compile a report on our interview findings and gave recommendations based on the gaps we identified in service delivery.
In those 6 weeks, I enjoyed the company and conversation of my team, with whom I also worked virtually as well as the great support from our mentors. One would call it an 'iron sharpening iron' experience. Furthermore, the AFREhealth team was always timely with updates and supported our experience technically by hosting us on their Zoom platform as well as financially. Indeed, the IPE Virtual elective was a wholesome and notable milestone in my training as a clinician.
I believe it has horned my skills in relating with colleagues of different training backgrounds and enhanced my problem identification and solving ability. I am more confident as I prepare to step into the patient-care world, not just as one who treats diseases, but also as one who works to see the health system perform for its people.
Audi Stephanie, Year 6 Medicine and Surgery, Kenyatta University, Kenya
