Medical students complete psychiatric elective placements in Dublin

Two clinical year students from the University of Ghana Medical School, Ms Irene Afua Appiah and Mr Clifford Lartey Cofie have completed a fully sponsored four week elective placement in Psychiatry at the world renowned St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin. The two students were winners of the 5th edition of the inter-medical school public speaking competition to promote psychiatry as a fulfilling career option for Ghanaian medical students which was held in Tamale last year. The program which has ongoing sponsorship from St Patrick’s University Hospital as part of its commitment towards promoting Global Mental Health has become a pivotal national event in Ghana and generates a lot of interest among medical students and faculty of Ghana’s medical schools and also among stakeholders in the mental health field. So far, 16 Ghanaian medical students have benefited from four weeks of fully sponsored psychiatric elective placements in Dublin since the program began in 2010. The sixth edition of the competition will be held on Friday the 21st of October 2016 at the main auditorium of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra at 12 noon. The topic for this year’s competition is: Mental Health Care delivery in Ghana: Is separation from general health care delivery part of the problem or part of the solution? Please find below a report on the elective placement compiled by the two medical students.


REPORT ON ELECTIVE PLACEMENT AT ST. PATRICK'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, DUBLIN - IRELAND, UNDERTAKEN BY IRENE AFUA APPIAH AND CLIFFORD LARTEY COFIE.
We touched down at the Dublin airport on Saturday, second of July 2016, at mid-day after a 16 hour flight from Ghana, transiting in Dubai. The journey was comfortable and uneventful for the most part, except for a point at the Dubai airport when we had to race against time to catch our connecting flight owing to the slight delay of our first flight. We were only informed that our luggage had not made it onto the plane, and thus would consequently be delayed, shortly before arrival in Dublin.

We made our way to St. Patrick's University Hospital from the Dublin airport. On arrival at the reception, we received welcome packs comprising keys to an apartment at Steven’s gate, an initial instalment of our allowances, comprehensive instructions pertaining to the elective programme including a time table, and ID cards that granted us unlimited access to food and drinks in the cafeteria. We subsequently took residence at the afore mentioned Steven’s gate in apartment number 15; it was absolutely comfortable.
Unfortunately, Emirates airlines could not deliver on their promise to have our luggage returned to us by 8 pm that evening, ergo we were compelled to go into town on Sunday to get new clothes for Monday's work at the hospital. This also afforded us an opportunity to start exploring the beautiful city of Dublin early, and about this we had no complaints. The Irish turned out to be extremely friendly and helpful people, and soon our initial anxieties at being among new people in a completely new environment begun to dissipate and we found ourselves revelling in the sights and sounds of a fascinating culture. We particularly enjoyed flitting in and out of various shopping centres in the city centre. Delightful.
Studying in St. Pat's, as it is affectionately known, was a most thrilling and instructive experience. During our four weeks we worked in various units in the hospital including the special care unit at Dean Swift ward, Vanessa ward for geriatric patients, Willow Groove for adolescents finally the addictions unit at the Temple centre. During these rotations, we witnessed first-hand the art and skill of psychiatric history taking, and learning to pose the right questions with tact. We also got the opportunity to interact with both patients and staff- an invaluable tool in medical training. We received dedicated tutoring in the basics of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment from the various doctors and professors we were assigned to. Indeed we are immensely grateful to the respective teams for their efforts. Of particular note was the opportunity we to observe first-hand electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) procedures being carried out.
The holistic biopsychosocial approach taken by the hospital in treating patients , service users as they are referred to, was an eye - opener in itself for us because it made us appreciate the telling effects mental illness has both on the sufferers and their families. We were also able to appreciate that recovery from mental illness can be a very long and drawn out effort, which is excruciating for some and downright frustrating for others, but that with the right institutions, laws and care plans in place, there is hope for every single person.
We would like to say a sincere thank you to all the organisers of the Inter-medical school competition that not only gave us the opportunity to brainstorm on an issue of national importance but also that of coming to the Emerald Isle: Thank you very much Dr Vincent Agyapong-you have been a great facilitator. We again are grateful to the staff of St Pat's for their assistance in so many ways than we could care to count. How could we possibly fail to mention Sarah Surgenor, Fiona Farrell and Tamara Nolan? You ladies were available to help us with everything, literally! Also, a special thank you to Drs Kelly, McCloughlin, and Naughton and their teams- Drs Eimear,Celia, Brady and Mu’adz as well as all the nurses. To the Ghanaians here who warmly welcomed us into their homes, we say “Nyame nhyira mo”- Mama Vida, Aunty Maggei, Barnabas, Randy, Eric and everyone! Furthermore, we say thank you to the entire Psychiatry department of the University of Ghana school of Medicine and Dentistry most especially Prof Ofori-Attah and Dr Ohene as well as the peerless UGSMD debate society well represented by Mr Atsu Lartey for the teamwork.

To everyone mentioned here, we can only pray that you will be blessed for all you help. And in the unfortunate event we missed anyone, we just wish to say we saved the best for last.

Thank you.
With much gratitude,
Clifford and Irene.