A Day in the Life of a Global Health Intern in Rwanda

In the Gynecology Department, all the residence and interns have a daily meeting which starts at 8 am. It is supposed to be about an hour, but it usually goes over. In the meetings, the residence’s present the new cases that were admitted overnight. After the meetings, we go to our assigned wards. There are about 4 to 5 different wars that you can attend. Each ward has patients with specific illnesses. There are many cases that are common here but are extremely rare in the U.S. So, it is fascinating to do clinical rotations and learn about the patients and their cases. On the other hand, the interns do not get assigned a specific assignment for the day, so you pretty much have to find things to do and keep yourself busy. I usually spend the day in the operation room (OR) and watch surgeries. To enter the OR, we have to wear scrubs and crocks (they do not allow any other shoes in the OR except crocks). Some days they are strict about the dress code but most times they don’t care, and sanitation is poor in these ORs, so it’s important to wash your hands before and after watching an operation. I get to observe whatever operations are happening, usually, they are C sections or hysterectomies. However, the operations vary, and every case is unique and different. During the operation, the residence may talk to you and tell you what they are doing. The operations vary in time, some are about 45 mins, but others can be about two hours. I enjoy watching C sections because I love when the babies come out of their mother’s womb and start their life here on earth. It truly is a miracle every time a baby is born. Hysterectomies are not as exciting, but they are still interesting, one time they took out an entire uterus and the process was fascinating. I usually watch a few operations, or I go to the labor and delivery ward. This is my favorite ward because I enjoy observing labor and delivery more than surgeries. The only thing is that you can be in labor and delivery for hours before a baby is born, but I like helping prepare mothers for their deliveries. Interning in the gynecology department at CHUK has reassured me about becoming an OBGYN. I have come to enjoy women’s health and have seen many interesting diseases that affect women in Rwanda. After shadowing for a few hours, I go to lunch with the other interns. I have made friends from France and Belgium and it’s fun to learn about their medical school system compare to ours and they really make the internship way more fun. I only do half days that the hospital so after lunch, I either go to the computer lab to do some work or I go home. Interning at CHUK has been a great experience that I will appreciate for the rest of my life.