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OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Health eMagazine April 2022 Watch this video!! Bani Adam by Saadi Shirazi A Ugandan Student’s Education in the Foil of the COVID-19 Pandemic Part 2/2 Written by Abraham Ddungu Matovu Medical Student, MakCHS All seemed to be returning to normal until June 2021 in my third year of medical school when Uganda experienced the second wave of COVID-19, forcing the president to issue yet another nationwide lockdown similar to the one we had stomached the previous year. I was still filled with the excitement of getting an elective placement abroad at Cambridge University, UK but this meant I had to pause and wait on the return of normalcy. This lockdown further slowed academic progress, pushing completion of my medical school education to a later date than initially planned. In the second lockdown I volunteered to help health workers in Kampala District by encouraging people to come for COVID-19 vaccination. The Ugandan government had acquired AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac and Moderna vaccines. We also experienced a massive usage of herbal drugs by Ugandans in the plight of the looming pandemic. This particular lockdown was shorter than the first one and by August 2021 we were allowed to return to university to continue with our studies. Highlights Perspectives Behind the Scenes Announcements Spotlight Reflections Nursing Division SARS COV-2 Pandemic and Us As the saying goes that tough times don’t last but tough people do, I was able to successfully wade my way through the third year of medical school amidst a blended learning experience of physical and online studies. In December 2021, I was placed in Kiryandongo District, Uganda with eight other medical students for Community Based Education and Research Studies (COBERS) placement, an initiative designed by Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) to bridge to the gap between urban and rural communities in accessing healthcare services. This is because more than 80% of the population in Uganda lives in rural areas yet 80% of the nation’s doctors live in the capital city of Kampala. As part of the curriculum, medical students in small grounds are expected to train and live in a rural community where they diagnose health challenges and work with the people to design a solution. The COBERS site, located all over Uganda, is pre-determined at MakCHS. During the COBERS placement in Kisorosoro village, Kiryadongo District located Northwest of Kampala, western Uganda, we conducted a community diagnosis where we were able to assess the impact of the pandemic on the local community while helping recommend potential solutions to overcome these challenges. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many deaths, loss of jobs resulting in inability to afford school tuition, and an increase in school dropouts especially among teenage girls in Uganda. However, I am still positive about the recovery of our economy and improvement in disease surveillance all over the world to prevent such pandemics from happening again. Clinical Case Report A New Column Global Health and the Arts Articles of the Month Videos of the Month Calendar Resources 20 Reflections continued on next page >>
OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Health eMagazine April 2022 Watch this video!! Bani Adam by Saadi Shirazi Highlights Perspectives Behind the Scenes Announcements Spotlight Reflections Nursing Division SARS COV-2 Pandemic and Us Clinical Case Report A New Column Global Health and the Arts Articles of the Month Videos of the Month I Am Still Trying to Catch up With My Academic Journey Part 2/3 Written by Natukunda Ferguson Medical Student, MakCHS At some point the English premier league, which had been closed in March 2020, resumed and occupied part of my time. I am a staunch supporter of Manchester United and the games lit up my world once again. This was however shortlived and did not satisfy my mental health. With time, COVID-19 cases began declining with more patients recovering. Having reached seven months without studying, I had lost hope and moved on. My poultry and plants were doing well and I did not care about when I could return to school. Then, the Ministry of Education announced that students enrolled in health sciences-related programs in their final year of study were allowed to resume in-person classes. This was done because the health sector was overwhelmed and needed more labor force. I was not a finalist, so I had to sit, relax, and wait for my time which was unknown. However, my hope was rekindled. “If the finalists were allowed to get back and do the exams, we too shall go back soon,” I thought to myself. One month later, I resumed school with virtual lectures via the Zoom video conferencing platform. I faced multiple challenges with this new online mode of learning. I was residing in a remote village in Western Uganda for the entire lockdown with a very poor communication network that could not sustain the online lectures. The environment at home was not good for concentrating and studying as I could be interrupted. These coupled together made studying at home a hustle. I told a good friend and classmate about the challenges I was facing only to find I was not alone. We worked out a plan that involved traveling back to Kampala. Not yet being allowed to report physically to school, we rented a hostel near the university in search of a good network to create a conducive learning environment. By the time I settled in, my fellow classmates had covered lots of material and I had to work harder to catch up. No longer facing challenges with the Zoom platform, I could attend lectures in the comfort of my room. End-of-semester exams were given on an online platform called Makerere University Electronic Learning Environment (MUELE), which had loopholes like slowing down when doing real-time exams. Though these exams were not favorable, I persevered and completed the semester that I had left uncompleted at the onset of the lockdown. A five-week recess term to end second year proceeded, as opposed to the usual ten weeks. Having finished the recess, I was set for the next academic year which I was looking forward to as it is the start of clinical rotations. I was curious to see how my experience as a junior clerk would affect my attitude and choices between the medical and surgical specialties. Third year began with a blended form of learning whereby we had some lectures and presentations online and also went to the wards for physical learning. My first clinical rotation was in the department of surgery. I was excited to start practicing on the wards, clerking patients, presenting to senior doctors, and scrubbing into surgeries. However, there were new rules like wearing masks and reducing interaction with patients, fellow students, and doctors. With patients being said to be the best textbooks, the restrictions and fear of contracting the virus limited my clinical exposure. I later had my rotation in internal medicine which I was passionate about. I interacted with senior doctors who taught me a lot and inspired me to work harder. Calendar Resources 21 Reflections continued on next page >>
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