Work the World India 2018 - Bryony Watmore

My name is Bryony I am a student nurse specialising in mental health at the University of Nottingham. The university have given us the opportunity to go on an elective placement anywhere in the world for 4 weeks to develop our nursing skills and knowledge. I have chosen Dar es Salaam in Tanzania as I would like to see how nursing differs in a developing country. I will be going with Work the World because they are supported by the University as being reliable, safe and reputable. They are supporting and guiding me through each step of planning my experience. As a mental health nurse I have an interest in how they treat people with mental health illnesses in Tanzania and if they can teach me any further skill as well as teaching them skills I have learnt during my studies. I will achieve this by spending a week at an HIV counselling clinic which I have stated on my application I would like to do. According to the world health organisation, in 2012 HIV/Aids was responsible for the deaths of 73.4 (18.2%) thousand people and was the top cause of deaths. As HIV is prevalent in Tanzania I will be taking several precautions whilst working with my patients and I will be taking my own supply of post exposure prophylaxis which is a medicine that must be taken with in 72hrs of being exposed to HIV. As well as my mental health skills I would like to develop my general nursing skills and build my knowledge on other aspects of nursing. I would like to gain experience in emergency situations and how they deal with emergencies with limited resources. I would also like to understand illnesses that are not common in the UK but are in Tanzania such as malaria and other tropical diseases. According to the world health organisation malaria was responsible for 5.2% of deaths which was 20.9 thousand people. Malaria is also one of the leading causes of death in Tanzania and whilst I am in the country I will be taking the appropriate precautions such as malaria tablets and insect repellent. In my last week I will be living in a village as a local and gain experience in a busy primary healthcare clinic to gain experience in how care is provided in a rural setting.