Mind Prep

When my younger sister, dad, and I got to Swaziland in 2010 we were shocked by how unprepared we were. For example, walking around in public as a woman in pants is kiiiiind of offensive. Oh and it may be nice during the day, but it's SO cold at night. So I decided to start early in my preparations for my first big trip alone. So here's my advice: 

• Read the website. And I mean all of it. Read every link, look at every picture, scour the facebook page if possible, and don't just skim through when you get emails from the program. (This is obviously for if you're going with a program.) If you make sure and go through all the information, you won't end up sending emails asking questions that you could have found the answer to yourself.

• Talk to everyone possible. I've had long conversations with my parent's friend who have been to Kenya before, looked up past participants to contact, and raided google looking for other blogs of people who have been before. This way I found lots of good tips that I wouldn't have thought of like brings tons of baby wipes to have with you at all times, have pencils & pens with you at all times for rounds, and ear plugs are apparently absolutely essential. So the people I talked to not only gave me really great packing tips, but advice on what to catch up on too, which brings me to the next point...

• Read, read, read! Okay I guess you probably think this is similar to number one here, but now I'm talking about reading up on whatever you'll actually be doing there. I've been brushing up on basic anatomy, making flash cards on tropical diseases, and reading books that different physicians and previous program participants recommended. I was told it was essential to brush up on clinical medicine and the basics so I was suggested the book "Where There Is No Doctor" which I plan on taking with me. My program is specifically for pre-med, but there will also be med students, nursing students, dental students, etc. so I know I'm not expected to be on their level, but I also don't want to feel silly not knowing the basics.

• Get some experience. Obviously there's no way for me to experience what I'll be doing in Kenya, but I've been doing a lot of shadowing. I think this will be important because I've always been very comfortable in a hospital (as a surgeon's daughter, we basically grew up in the doctors lounge and playing in the wheelchairs with kids in the waiting room), but now I'm really comfortable in the operating room as well. I know how to scrub in, what to touch and not touch, who you definitely don't want to piss off, and how to make friends with people when you have no idea what they're talking about- it's great! 
• Side note: make sure you set up the shadowing stuff in advance. A lot of hospitals and offices require you to do paperwork or an orientation and sign a confidentiality agreement- you don't want that stuff to cut into your shadowing time.

Selfie mirror pic shadowing today!

So that's it- advice for anybody else wanting to take a trip like this and updates for anybody who's ultra curious about what I've been doing all summer!