EHA

Dear Medical Student

Thanks for your interest in doing an elective with EHA.

One point that we think is worth mentioning specifically however is that of your expectations in seeking to do a placement with EHA. It has become apparent that a number of students coming to do placement in EHA hospitals have been somewhat disappointed by the amount of practical "hands on" experience they receive especially in terms of surgical work.

This situation may well have primarily arisen from students' peers in medical colleges returning from placements in Africa and reporting that they have been called upon to perform all and sundry procedures. However, the medical facilities and care available in India generally and in EHA hospitals specifically, are much better than in Africa and our situation is nowhere near as dire.

Hence, in EHA hospitals, it is unrealistic to give all foreign placement students high levels of practical exposure to surgical procedures, especially when, in many hospitals, priority in training needs to be given to the junior Indian doctors, so that they are able to improve their skills.

What we are able to offer to all placement students is good general exposure of routine procedures conducted in a rural Indian hospital. This would include the following:-

• Conducting a normal delivery
• Doing an episiotomy and suturing the same
• Applying forceps/Vacuum cup during delivery
• Incision and draining of abscesses
• Spinal puncture for spinal anaesthesia
• Suturing cuts and wounds
• Assisting at a major surgery
• Dilation and curettage
• Circumcision
• Applying plaster of Paris
• Insertion of intrauterine devices for family planning
• Proctoscopy
• Urethral catheterisation
• Pleural Tap
• Ascetic Fluid Tap
• Taking skin grafts
• Assisting with Appendectomies & C- Sections
• IV Canulation/Phlebotomy
• Injections
• Intubation
• Obstetric Exams & PVs
• Ophthalmology - Slit lamp & Fluoroscopy