Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Exploring Psychiatric Care in Zambia

Throughout my time in Africa I had the opportunity to work in female, male, and OPD psychiatric wards. I am very passionate about working in psychiatry and have experience working as an Employed Student Nurse in the Vernon Psychiatry ward last summer. In Zambia the psychiatric patients are split up into female and male wards as many other wards at Lewanika General Hospital. To become admitted, the patients see a psychiatric clinical officer in the Psych OPD. A psychiatric clinical officer acts as a psychiatrist in Canada - prescribing, diagnosing, admitting, and discharging patients. As seen in other parts of the hospital, the patients family are required to supply food, clean clothes, and hygiene products. This is also the same case for both psychiatric wards. Often the family is unable to supply food, clothing, and soap since there is a large stigma associated with mental illness in Zambia. I was able to bring t-shirts and hygiene products that were generously donated for our practicum and they were very well received on the wards. The staff were very grateful and stated that these donations would make a huge difference for the patients. When I went back to the ward at at a later time the patients were already wearing the shirts! It is very interesting see what we often take for granted in Canada can make such a difference here. I am so grateful that I was able to work with the very knowledgable staff on the psychiatric wards. It was an eye-opening experience to see the difference in conditions of psychiatric hospitals compared to Canada, but it was encouraging to see that the staff were very passionate about decreasing the stigma that is often associated with mental illness.

Sending love to all my family and friends back home!

-Michelle Nurkowski


(Staff room with hotplate)

(Yearly diagnosis chart in male psychiatry) 


3 comments:

  1. Hi Michelle! Love hearing about your experiences there. Hope you have an amazing time and I can't wait to hear your stories when you get home. Linda Drew

    ReplyDelete
  2. i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
    or
    call/whatsapp:+2349057261346



    i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
    or
    call/whatsapp:+2349057261346

    ReplyDelete
  3. Investing online has been a main source of income,that's why knowledge plays a very important role in humanity,you don't need to over work yourself for money.All you need is the right information,and you could build your own wealth from the comfort of your home!Binary trading is dependent on timely signals,assets or controlled strategies which when mastered increases chance of winning up to 90%-100% with trading. It’s possible to earn $10,000 to $20,000 trading weekly-monthly,just file a complaint with  Robert,I had almost given up on everything about binary trading and ever getting my lost funds back,till i met with him,with his help now i have my lost funds back to my bank account and I can now trade successfully with his profitable strategies and software!! Email: Robertseaman939@gmail.com or Fb.me/investandmakemoney1 or  whatsApp: +44 7466 770724

    ReplyDelete