(What’s an average day like for a UCU medical school student? This second of a two-part story is designed to provide some insight. Today is focused on a year-five student.)
By Kefa Senoga
“Meet me at Roy Billington Ward in the Sir Albert Cook building.”
That is what Cynthia Atim, a final-year student of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Medicine (SoM), told me when I informed her I had arrived at Mengo Hospital. This is where the UCU SoM is based, and I was here to spend a day with Atim, as she goes about her duties as a medical student.
It was a new day, and a new week. The day – Monday October 21, 2024, – was already buzzing with activity. As I made my way to Roy Billington Ward, everything seemed in motion, from the doctors in their white coats and stethoscopes around their necks, to nurses in their white uniforms.
“Today is a major ward round day for internal medicine,” explains Atim, who was wearing a white coat emblazoned with her name and the UCU logo. “What we do is learn from most patients on the ward.”
She says the ward rounds are like learning sessions for them as medical students. It is during the rounds that they work with senior doctors to check on the status of patients and discuss treatment plans.
As we approach the bed of the first patient that Atim is set to clerk, she explains that this moment is about interacting with the patient to collect essential information regarding individual health. It includes asking questions about symptoms, medical history, lifestyle and other relevant details.
“It’s important to gather that information from patients because it helps us understand what led them to seek medical care,” Atim explains. She adds that it also provides insights into the potential illnesses the patient may be experiencing.
For this particular patient, difficulty in breathing and chest pain were what had brought her to the hospital three days ago.
“How many times have you been admitted?” Atim asked the patient. Lying on a blanket spread on the floor was the mother of this young adult patient, who quickly replied, “She’s never been admitted before.”
After the clerking, Atim headed to the nurses’ station to jot down some of her findings.
“It’s better to listen so that you can go back and write,” Atim says, stressing that sometimes there’s a lot of information and so you have to note down, so you can to remember while presenting to the senior doctors when they come.
“Besides, at the end of the day, they also expect a report about the patients,” she notes.
As we make our way to another patient, we pass a hospital caretaker, whom Atim greets warmly: “How is Jajja?” she asks. Jajja is the Luganda word for grandparent. From what I observe, Atim’s relationship with the patients and other people around the hospital community is rooted in respect.
At the next patient’s bedside, we find Marie and Samuel, Atim’s student colleagues, who were clerking the patient. Atim joins them as they attend to this elderly woman experiencing shortness of breath and difficulty in lying flat.
According to Atim, this patient has cancer on the walls of the uterus. However, it has spread to the lungs. The patient is already going through her cycles of chemotherapy.
But the reason for her admission into the hospital is shortness of breath and difficulty lying flat. “She’s here to investigate the cause of her breathing issues, which she hasn’t experienced before, despite her cancer diagnosis,” Atim explains.
About three doctors later join Atim and her colleague to assess this patient. It’s at this moment that Atim and her two colleagues are meant to present their findings to these doctors, which they do, effectively.
Afterward, the same group moves to Atim’s previous patient. Atim presents her findings to the doctors. According to the feedback from the senior doctor leading the team, Atim’s findings have captured the most essential details.
The next session takes place in the intensive care unit, which I’m not allowed to access. However, according to Atim, their interest is a patient who underwent surgery and now requires a physician’s review. Since their facilitator was the one they had called for the review, he took them along, to assess the patient.
I observed that a day is almost nonstop action for a medical student. Atim says that they remain with no choice but to endure the demanding schedules because there is a lot to cover, and they need to acquire the knowledge to be able to practice effectively.
As we make our way to Luke Ward for Atim’s next session, we meet one of Atim’s instructors, who asks her to speak with her classmates to create time for a lecture later that day. She politely explains that their schedule was already crowded, with lectures going late into the evening.
At the Luke Ward, we joined Atim’s other classmates in a session where the case study was a patient with edema. According to Atim, edema refers to the swelling caused by the accumulation of excess fluid in the tissues, which can affect various parts of the body, including the limbs.
Following that session, the facilitator led the class into another round of history-taking, which involved revisiting what they had practiced earlier in the day — gathering patients’ medical backgrounds, symptoms, and other relevant information. Notably, Atim stood out as one of the most active participants in this group of about 15 students, frequently responding to the questions posed by the facilitator.
“History is important. It’s the first thing you do for the patient before you even send them to the laboratory,” Atim told me at the end of the class session. It was now 1.30 p.m and Atim had just 30 minutes for her lunch, before settling in for a lecture at 2 p.m.
As we wrapped up our appointment, Atim shared her passion for surgery, noting that it’s the field she hopes to specialize in.
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“There was never any question that I would come back,” Dr. Gilbert said. “Most people see being a doctor as something prestigious. I see what we do as that of a servant.”
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