This week, we will begin our main project at the hospital. The goal is to use time and motion techniques to quantify the time spent by hospital staff on their daily tasks. By doing this, we can hypothesize interventions that would reduce areas of “wasted time," which would ultimately result in a more effective and efficient workflow.
In the afternoon, we joined the Texans at the weekly running
club—a worldwide group referred to as HASH. We drove to the Four Seasons complex
in the City Centre (New Town), and began to mingle with the other runners that
gradually filtered in. It was the first time that I had seen so many whites at once
in Malawi. The run/walk started and ended outside the bar, Chameleon.
Eager to finally stretch my legs, I joined the “long”
runners. The small group of ex-pats set off on a roughly 4-mile trek through
the city. In an attempt to keep everyone together, the route was marked with
“checkpoints” (a circle spray-painted on the pavement). Once everyone arrived
at the checkpoint, the leader instructed the group to investigate all possible
routes to find the correct one. Once the correct path was uncovered, the rest
of the group would subsequently follow. It was a fun way to see the town and
exercise in a safe environment. We attracted a fair amount of attention from
locals, but most of them smirked and waved. Among the friendly atmosphere, I quickly
befriended a nurse named Emily from Seattle, who is working in Malawi for one
year.
We returned to the Four Seasons just before dusk, and
celebrated with beers and traditional chants and games. Feeling so isolated
when I first arrived, I was shocked that ex-pat groups like this existed here.
People from across the world—with their own accents and inspirational stories—have
found themselves in Malawi for one reason or another. The sociable group
welcomed us back the following week. I will be sure to attend, and also to seek
out the group in future travels abroad.
Ryan and I began our project in the hospital pharmacy on
Tuesday. We spent the morning collecting data from pharmacy staff, and returned
the favor in the afternoon by helping pre-pack medications.
For dinner, we joined our “second family” for a delicious
meal. After a few dry days, nightfall brought a powerful thunderstorm and heavy
rains. Still not a true "African rain," but I enjoyed falling asleep to the soundtrack of the pattering on the tin roof.
Wednesday was another low-key day. It felt slightly cooler
outside after the recent rains. Ryan and I continued collecting data for our
project and helping in the pharmacy. After dinner with the Texans, James prepared a special chilled dessert. The layers of shortbread, caramel, and
chocolate made for a perfect combination of flavors.
Around noon, a heavy downpour came out of nowhere. It lasted no more than 20 minutes, and cleared up almost as quickly as it arrived.
After lunch, Ryan and I joined the Texans at a free clinic
called Children of the Blessing. The small facility is run by both local and
ex-pat employees and volunteers, all of which were very welcoming and friendly.
The epilepsy clinic operates twice a month; the remaining days are
dedicated to other activities and programs for the children. Ryan and I helped
out in the pharmacy, dispensing medications and logging follow-up appointments.
Later that afternoon, Chipi took us back to
Area 3. There we caught up with Amy and Ashlyn as more rain and storms came.
It seems as though they’ve had a tough week at KCH.
For dinner, Nancy prepared potato soup and vegetable curry. For
dessert, another apple pie!
That night, Ryan and I had a brief phone call from our
pharmacist preceptors in Pittsburgh before packing for our weekend trip... a
safari in Zambia!
