Centre de Santé de Hann/Mer
Marietou Faye Paye, 2010
My internship, which debuted from the fifth of January of 2009 and ended at the end of the month, was done in the capital of Senegal, Dakar, in the health field. During my internship, I witnessed both the positive and negative sides of the healthcare. I worked in the field of pharmacy but I was also given the opportunity to work in the laboratories of the health center in Hann/Mer, Dakar and in the biggest hospital of Dakar, which is Hopital Principal de Dakar.
At the Centre de Sante de Hann/Mer, I worked in the pharmacy and laboratory area. Because my interest was in both pharmacy and laboratory work, though my internship was to be on pharmacy only, my supervisor gave me the opportunity to work in the laboratory of the centre de santé. As a pharmacy intern, my job was to know what medications were available and what was sold. I was responsible for overlooking the daily flow of the pharmacy. The pharmacy was strict about its budget because the country has shown the corruption that resulted in the hospitals because of money. The hospital, with the daily diary of the pharmacy, had a monthly meeting where the situation of the pharmacy was discussed. Because of the time of the year, the pharmacy was not as busy and therefore, did not operate as much. However, the laboratory I co-interned in had a many patient to view daily.
On my first day at the laboratory, I observed the labor that was to be done. After the first few days, I was responsible for analyzing blood and urine of patients. I had a microscope, chemicals reagents, a centrifuge and a machine to analyze bloods and urines. Determining the blood group of a patient required four reagents and manual labor. I was to determine whether the patient had blood type A, B or AB (+ or -) and if the result showed it to be none of the above, I was to have the patient be sent to an institutions with more advanced materials to determine whether or not the patient had blood type O (+ or -). Our center did not have enough materials to positively declare such blood type for a patient. For the urine and blood, I was to analyze them in slides. My job with the urine was to prepare two fresh slides and color one of them. For the uncolored slides, I was to look for epithelial cells, red blood cells and white blood cells, which were bound to show up if infection existed. For the colored slide, my job was to look for white blood cells, bacilli, cocci and trophazoites. I was also responsible for counting trophazoites and white blood cells in the slide of blood I colored, which is a method I had already learned in my Cell biology class. The blood was also used to count the patient white blood cells, red blood cells and hemoglobin. I was responsible for determining all of these, which in turn gave me an insight in the medical world.
With the amount of information I learned from school, I was able to work better in the pharmacy and laboratory. This allowed me to show my interests and also to be able to work in the lab. I was able to put into lots efforts in the lessons I was given because I had an understanding of the subjects. Overall, I would say that I have put in lots of efforts and thoughts into this internship. The subjects were vastly interesting and this allowed me to keep continuous interests in what I was doing throughout the internship.
With an understanding of the issues that are involved with the healthcare systems of Senegal, I was able to have a better understanding of what I need to do in order to successfully operate as a pharmacist and a scientific researcher in Senegal. My ultimate goal is to settle in Senegal where I can participate in the betterment of the country especially in the health field. I have witnessed that access to materials that enable the health centers to operate efficiently is one of the major issue. This gave me the idea of researching current organizations that are working on providing materials for free to the hospitals in Senegal. I was able to find organizations called ActionTeranga and CDC, whom I plan on working with. I also understood that I need to work more in the hospitals in the country in order to have a greater experience in these fields and better understanding of the people. Therefore, I was able to speak to the chief of the laboratories of Hopital Principal de Dakar, who explained to me that they are organizing programs with other nearby countries and that I would be able to participate in their programs in the future. There are so much more that can be done. However, this internship has given me the opportunity to reshape my future plan in order to attain my goal of improving my natal country.
Overall, I learned an extreme amount of information, especially because this was my first experience working with patients. It was interesting to know the manual labor that had to be put in when technology is thought to be advanced and ample. I felt very good about my internship because it reinforced the lessons I had learned in my Cellular Biology class. Some of the skills that I had already learned were put into use, which allowed me to show to my supervisors that I had some knowledge of the fields. In the pharmacy, the lessons that I learned in my organic chemistry class came into use when my supervisor gave me papers from the medicines to read and understand. Overall, it is an experience I would like to relive as it had reinforced my desire to enter the field. And with the amount of difficulties faced by the workers of this centre de santé, I was able to see what it would take to become a pharmacist and a scientific researcher in Senegal.
Contact the Career Services Office for more information on this internship!