Hospital Experience Essay

791 Words4 Pages

Growing up in one of the largest cities in West Africa, Ibadan houses the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital; commonly called University College Hospital (U.C.H.) Ibadan. I was born and grew up not too far from the hospital complex. Some of the streams of people passing by have always been the neatly dressed nurses and doctors in their prescribed immaculate uniforms and snow-white lab coats. This has had an intuitive impression on my psyche right from my childhood. I had the privilege of visiting the college anytime I wish when an elderly cousin became a medical student at the college, and later a resident at the hospital. This exposed me further to the medical fields. This close association with students in the medical fields registered …show more content…

I was working as a fire guard officer when I was by chance posted to a dialysis center. There, I saw patients walking in and out of the dialysis center unaccompanied with smiles on their faces after their session. This was in sharp contrast to what I knew in Nigeria. Someone must go with the patient to run errands and give physical support to the patient post dialysis. Patients are often very tired and unable to walk without physical support after undergoing dialysis. This observation aroused my curiosity about what could be the difference between dialysis session in the United States and back in Nigeria. On one occasion, I was chatting with one of the patients about his sessions when he showed me his fistula. I quickly remembered I saw that a few times back in Nigeria. Femoral or jugular vein catheterization is the common access for dialysis in Nigeria because fistula is not affordable to the most. The pain from muscle and blood vessel piercing during catheterization also adds to their stress. I later concluded that the differences I observed are results of better facilities, good training and healthcare system that works. I still give kudos to those doctors and nurses who are diligently doing their best with the limited resources

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