Med student’s typical day
For those students who are willing to provide staff education, the day begins at 7:30am. There is a routine where medical students or other volunteers provide informal 30 minute education sessions to a small number of Bairo Pite Clinic staff three to four times each week.
Ward rounds begin at 8am and take around 1.5 hours. There is a small maternity unit of 9 beds, and 33 Inpatient beds. The most common presentation is TB. Dr Dan Murphy leads the ward round, frequently asking students questions.
The medical students then leave for the mobile clinic with a translator and nurse where they travel to remote villages in the districts, up to 3 hours drive away – travel can take this long due to the poor quality of the roads. Upon arrival, the medical students see the patients who have turned up for the clinic and prescribe the treatment they feel is appropriate. Only a fairly limited number of drugs are taken to these clinics and no investigations are available so diagnosis is entirely clinical.
On return from the mobile clinic, the medical students lead an afternoon ward round and report back to Dr Dan. The day is usually finished by 6pm. Sundays start at 9am with a longer teaching ward round, which is often joined by other doctors who are working in Dili at the time. This finishes around noon, and the rest of the day is free.
Students also have the opportunity to stay later during the evening at maternity and to be on call over night.