The Grand Finale

6.15.13
I have truly enjoyed my stay in Ghana.  I am so thankful to have had this experience of exploring what pharmacy is like here.  I really wish I could stay longer because there is so much more for me to learn!

I would like to thank my preceptor Mr. William Addo for giving me the opportunity to complete my rotation at J.M. Addo & Sons Pharmacy Ltd., as well as the staff at the pharmacy.  They took me in as one of their own and really helped me learn a lot as well as enjoy my time in the pharmacy.

My preceptor and me

Last week in the pharmacy

I would like to thank Dr. James Pschirer and Ms. Anna Schmotzer for helping me set up this rotation.  Without them, I would not have had this wonderful opportunity.

I would like to thank Dr. Lauren Jonkman and Dr. Randall Smith for helping me with my public health project.

I would like to thank my sister Lisa for accompanying me on this trip because it would not have been easy doing this alone.

I would like to thank my parents for all their support and encouragement throughout this trip, as well as allowing me to explore pharmacy in Ghana.

I would like to thank my dear friend Fata Karva for helping me set up this blog and making it a huge success.

And I would like to thank all my family and friends who read my blog.  Thank you so much for all your support.

This experience has definitely made me appreciate Ghana and all that it has to offer.  I strongly encourage everyone to visit some part of Africa at one point in time of his or her life.  I hope to come back to Ghana within the next three years, God willing.

Until next time.... :)

Week 5/6 Highlights

6.11.13
I have been able to learn a lot in the past few days.  I attended a lecture on asthma and was able to get a refresher on the treatments based on which step a patient was on.  Some of the brand names for the drugs were different, but the treatments are the same in Ghana as that of the USA.  The lecture was very interactive, as pharmacy interns who are preparing to take their licensing exams soon were bouncing ideas back and forth to make sure everyone was on the same page.

The other day a woman came into the pharmacy with her baby.  The baby had really big bumps on his face and the woman wanted to buy something to help the bumps go away.  I had never seen anything like it!  It was really sad because you could see that the baby was suffering.  The mother did not have enough money to buy medication for the baby so one of the employees helped pay for it.  We strongly advised the woman to take the baby to the hospital for a more appropriate diagnosis.

Project Progress

6.5.13
So far, I've gotten a few people to participate in my research study.  It felt really good counseling one of the subjects on her medication.  The doctor had recently switched her over from lisinopril to losartan so she had a lot of questions.

Today a woman wasn't interested in participating but thanked me for asking her if she any questions because she said many people usually don't ask and just sell the medications.

This project has really helped me realize how difficult it is to conduct research because not everyone is willing to participate even when it is in their best interest.  I wish I had more time here so I could have the opportunity to reach out to more people, but I will do the best I can with the little time I have left.

Week 4 Wrap Up

5.31.13
Ghanaians are a very interesting breed.  People are not afraid to cross the streets when cars are flying down the road, but when it rains, the city shuts down.  Yesterday morning it rained for about 30 minutes and people were running left and right looking for a dry place to stay.

Today a man came in with a prescription for a spironolactone and an aldactone suspension for a little boy with a heart defect.  Because many pharmacies are run on the sole interest of making money, most of them do not compound since there is no pharmacist present so they tell patients that they don’t have the drugs available.  The man was happy to have found our pharmacy because we were able to compound the suspension for his son.

Week 4 Highs and Lows

5.29.13
This week is going really well so far. I got to counsel a few patients today.  A woman came in to the pharmacy with a prescription for birth control pills so I was able to counsel her on the use of her pills.  A man also came in with a prescription for some medications for his pregnant wife so I instructed him on how she should take the medications as well.

Dewormers are a common medication that people come in to the pharmacy for on a daily basis; however, there has been a recent shortage of them.

I had a really sad moment in the pharmacy today.  A woman came in with a 12 year old girl complaining that the girl was very pale and seemed very ill.  The woman said that she usually buys eggs from the girl and was really concerned about her so she brought her in to the pharmacy to see if there was anything we could give her.  She didn't know the girl's name or if she had any family but she was really worried about her.  We asked the girl if she had eaten today and she said yes, but seemed really confused when we asked her more questions.  The lady begged for us to give the girl something with the little money she had and the pharmacist gave her an appetite stimulant.  The lady thanked us and made the girl drink some of the appetite stimulant right away.  It was really sad because the girl did look really sick and she did not really have enough money to buy some medication.  But I am glad we were able to give her something.

Time is winding down and soon it'll be time for me to leave.  I really wish I could stay longer because I'm definitely getting used to life around here....can you tell? :)

Halfway Point

5.26.13

Three weeks have already passed since I've been in Ghana.  Time is really flying!  This week on rotation was pretty routine.  The most interesting encounter I had this week was counseling a deaf patient.  I didn't realize he was deaf until his mother told me to give her the instructions on how her son should take his medication. I wrote the instructions down as well just in case they forgot.  This interaction was really interesting because I had never had that kind of experience.  I'm looking forward to what new experiences await me this week.

Dumso-Dumso (Lights off/Lights on)/ When in [Ghana]...do as [Ghanaians] do

5.21.13

For the past 6-8 months, Ghana as a whole has been experiencing electrical difficulties.  Fortunately, I have not had to experience too much of it since I've been here up until recently.  At home, sometimes the water shuts off in the middle of a shower, so I have learned to become much more efficient with the time I spend in the bathroom.

The food here is amazing!  Everything is fresh and you can eat once a day and be okay.  The Ghanaian diet is very heavy on carbohydrates.  Ghanaians mostly eat rice, plantain, fufu (cassava), yam, banku (blended cassava and corn dough), and different stews and soups.  Eating with your hands is not an uncommon practice here.

Fried plantain and beans

Waakye

Making fufu!!

Eating with my hands

If you ever plan on visiting Ghana in the future, don't be afraid of not being able to eat foods that you are used to!  This past weekend, one of my friends celebrated her birthday and we went for breakfast at one of Ghana's finest hotels, Golden Tulip.  I had the "traditional" American breakfast:  eggs, bacon, and potatoes. and I felt like I was at home.

My American Breakfast :)

Inside of the hotel Golden Tulip

Breakfast birthday celebration with the girls 

You can find almost anything they have in America here in Ghana, but the local foods are amazing and worth trying.