Wie wird die Praktikumsbetreuung angeboten?

In allen medizinischen Einrichtungen wird dir als Praktikant/in eine Fachkraft aus dem Krankenhaus zur Seite gestellt, welche entscheidet, welche Untersuchungen und Behandlungen du unter ihrer Aufsicht an den Patienten durchführen darfst, wozu etwa die Medikamentengabe, Wundversorgung, Vitalzeichenmessungen, Impfungen geben und andere Assistenztätigkeiten gehören. Diese Person gibt dir eine professionelle Rückmeldung.

Auch Praktikanten und Freiwillige mit beruflicher Qualifikation und Arbeitserfahrungen können nicht selbständig praktizieren, da dafür eine Zulassung der tansanischen Gesundheitsbehörde erforderlich ist. Diese zu bekommen, ist ein längerer Vorgang, der sich nur lohnt für längere Einsätze von mindestens einem Jahr Dauer. Auch wenn du über fachliche Qualifikation verfügst, unterstehst du einer in Tansania zugelassenen Fachkraft, die für dich die Verantwortung übernimmt und in deren Ermessen es liegt, was du selbständig durchführen kannst.

Was soll ich mitbringen?

Teilnehmende sollen ihre eigene Arbeitskleidung mitbringen (Kasack in weiß, grün oder blau sowie geschlossene Schuhe beliebiger Farbe). Ratsam ist es außerdem, eigenes Handdesinfektionsmittel sowie ein eigenes Stethoskop mitzubringen. Wer im OP-Bereich tätig ist, bringt bitte grüne oder blaue Kleidung, Mundschutz und Haarhauben mit.

Für eine Famulatur oder ein Praktikum im Mawenzi Regional Hospital und St. Joseph Hospital solltes du etwas fachliche passendes studieren, dich in einer fachlich passenden Ausbildung befinden oder diese abgeschlossen haben.

Für ein Vorpraktikum im Pasua Health Centre, Faraji Hospital, Kilima Hospital und in den Dispensaries ist es nicht erforderlich, dass du bereits studierst.

Freiwillige in allen Einrichtungen benötigen fachliche Qualifikation im Gesundheitsbereich.

Flexible, ganzjährig. Anreise an einem Montag, Mittwoch oder Freitag zwischen 4 Uhr morgens und 23 Uhr planmäßige Ankunftszeit deines Fluges. Der Einsatz startet dann wie vereinbart an einem Werktag.

• Antonia - Hebammenstudentin in Tansania
• Bericht von Line, Mariane, Karoline, Sanna und Anja - Pflegepraktikantinnen aus Norwegen
• Medizinische Systeme

Famulaturbericht von Vibe

I was a medical elective at Mawenzi Hospital in Moshi for 4 weeks in the summer of 2014. I was amazed to learn how the hospital staff is able to manage their patients with so little equipment and so few resources. Visiting Tanzania has been an eye opener, both professionally and culturally.

I am a medical student and I worked along with both the doctors, nurses, native medical students and laboratory staff. I am happy to pass on some of the experiences and observations from my stay to encourage other medical students who are considering being a medical elective in a developing country.

In my opinion it cannot be overstated that before you go, you must be honest with yourself. I will not recommend medical students who have not had any experience with clinical work to go yet. It is when you demonstrate to them that you have both interest and basic knowledge, that they will trust you with independent jobs and supervise you while learning new procedures. But if you are quiet and do not contribute to the conversations, no one will ask you for help. This may be tough and I am not trying to deter anyone, but you need to consider that if the doctor will be spending a lot of time explaining this and that to you, his/her time will be taken away from the patients.

Please do not think of a foreign developing country as your “medical playground”. It is fine to ask the doctor if he or she will teach you some procedure, but DO NOT go and give it a try without asking permission. The patients have a right to turn away, but they won’t do that, because they trust you to know what you are doing since you’re both white and have medical education. It is a big advantage to have studied the most common diseases from home (e.g. tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria), so you can actively participate in the management and treatment of these types of patients.

Finally, do consider the various situations you might be in. Are you able to handle casualty? Are you able to work around hungry, poor and sick children? If not, you should at least be aware that these situations are a part of the everyday life in a community hospital in a developing country and you should work out a strategy of how you will handle these situations.

Personally, I will not recommend people under the age of 18 to travel to Tanzania by themselves. I know some youngsters are very mature at the age of 17 or before, but you need to remember; you have only yourself to rely on, and not much of the culture is comparable to Western community or lifestyle. Surely the Moshi coordinators are there to help you (and they are coordinators of golden standard ;-)), but they are not there to take care of you. YOU are responsible for your own health and safety. Do not ever be careless with security. ALWAYS be home by sundown or share a cab with other volunteers (they are ridiculously cheap anyway). Independence should not be confused with loneliness, because social life in Moshi is incredible and you with have lots of fun and time to relax with the other volunteers.

Travel to Tanzania with an open mind – just talk to the people you meet, they are often very interested in your views on Tanzania, your experiences, how your country is different from theirs and so on. Do not go to Moshi if you will be spending half the time on the social media anyway. And try not to be late, even though it seems everyone else are…. ;-)

To sum up; with appropriate consideration, patience and independence, you will definitely find yourself embracing the warmth of the Tanzanian people and enjoying the African way of life. And memories will stay with you all the way back to Europe. World unite! helped me set the perfect frame for combining volunteering and travel, thank you very much, I will surely recommend your organization to other students in the area of healthcare."

Kind regards,
Vibe Nielsen, Denmark