It was the second week of administering our Needs Assessment Questionnaire. My two research assistants and I had arrived at the Radiotherapy department of the Korle Bu teaching hospital at 7:45am to begin seeking the consent of caregivers of cancer patients. We would ask them if they would be gracious enough to spare a moment to answer questions pertaining to their role as caregiver.
Jillian Nickerson on PORTAL (Patient Oriented Research Training And Leadership)
Jillian Nickerson is in ISMMS’s PORTAL program, as a MD/MSCR Candidate, Class of 2015.
Jake Prigoff, Class of 2016, discusses the structure of ISMMS’s third year of medical school and his expectations.
Jake Prigoff is an MD candidate, Class of 2016
(Continued from Part 1)
At 11:30 am, I decided it was time for a new strategy. The university students and I had been shuttling between a canteen and the department in order not to take up the limited space in the waiting area. At the canteen, we went over the process of seeking consent from our caregivers a few more times. On my sixth trip to the Radiotherapy Department where I was hoping to gain the sympathy of a nurse to inquire about anyone else in the department who I may be able to speak to about the project, none other than the Head of Radiotherapy appeared from a room.
Today was quite the day!
At dawn, I made the trek from my house to the main road in order to hop on a local bus (a trotro) to begin my 3-hour commute to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. I engaged in conversation with the driver on the fourth (and last) bus I was on and he told me his sister lived in Connecticut. He was thrilled to learn that I had spent four years in school in a state whose existence many Ghanaians were ignorant of. We exchanged numbers and he promised to put me in touch with his sister. The taxi driver and I had found a personal connection!
The following is the first in a two-part reflection piece written by Kamini Doobay, Class of 2015, during her Art and Science of Medicine (ASM) class.
“Breathe with your patient – with your stethoscope placed correctly. In and out….and again, in and out.”
As I fumbled to get my earpiece in correctly and gently place the cold stethoscope on Mr. T’s back, Dr. Fierer spoke these words. Breathe with my patient? I nodded in acceptance, for he knew what he was doing and I clearly did not. My skepticism and self-doubt was not obvious. No one – the doctor, the patient or my fellow classmates – could tell that all I was thinking was,”How can I breathe with my patient and listen at the same time?”
