In less than 48 hours I will be landing in Blantyre, Malawi. I’ve spent countless hours preparing things for this trip, from tangible items such as mosquito repellent (which got taken away at airport security..) and medical devices that were prepared and studied at the OEDK at Rice during the first two weeks of may, to intangibles such as mental preparations for a new culture and standard of care that we need to be ready for. You can only prepare so much for a two month long internship abroad in a continent on the opposite side of our planet. I also think that the tangible preparations are not as important as the intangible preparations. Yes, if our luggage does not make it on time, we would all be in trouble and have found ourselves in a difficult situation, but if we did not properly prepare for this trip and the work we will be doing then I think we would be facing even larger difficulties.

Thankfully however, the team I am going with are some of the most well respected and driven people I know. I do not have a single doubt that we will all survive and work meeting and exceeding expectations. We can only prepare so much; we can write up troubleshooting guides to student designed circuit boards but you cannot write a troubleshooting guide about unexpected obstacles, we can simply attempt to expect the unexpected. What we can do, and have done, is be as ready as possible for the events and obstacles we cannot foresee. I am entering this trip with an open mind, an inviting demeanor, and willingness to learn as much as I can. I am more excited than nervous, and leaving my fears and doubts behind.

Things I’m excited about:

• Meeting and working with everyone! I’m excited to work alongside Malawian interns at the Polytechnic University in Malawi and am very excited to work with the nurses in the maternity ward at Queen Elizabeth’s Central Hospital.
• Living in my own home with my fellow interns, cooking daily (will keep you updated about this), and learning to wash my clothes by hand. Lastly the food, everytime I visit a new country I attempt to try all the traditional food of that country/region.

Devices we will be bringing:

• A continuous uterine contraction monitor
• A Cervical cancer education model
• Gastroschisis silo bags
• Ostomy bags
• A continuous Maternal Temperature Monitor
• A Syringe pump to use with multiple brands
• Testing strips for a jaundice diagnostic device

 

Now to fly for about 22 hours!

–franklin–