Travel date: August 22, 2016
Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: Four Weeks Residential Study Period
Origin: Blantyre, Malawi / Destination: Kampala, Uganda
I was able to learn alot of knowledge and skills in palliative care delivery as we covered module for both first and second semester in the four weeks such as Foundations of Palliative care and public health approach, Pain management, Symptom control, Disease specific conditions in Palliative care, Psychosocial and ethical issues, Spiritual care and Audit and evaluation.
As stated above the knowledge and skills acquired has helped me to improve skills in delivery of care to Palliative care patients I come across with at the centre and will help me to transfer vast knowledge and skills to health care workers who come for clinical placements.
Word of appreciation and thanks for the travel grant however it came in late so may you please improve your financial processes so that the travel grant reaches the grantee in time before the date of departure to the destination.
Palliative Care is a new branch of Medicine in Malawi hence number of Palliative care specialists are very few. The knowledge I acquired is very important as it will help me manage the palliative care patients effectively especially in pain and symptom control as these cause so much distress to palliative care hence improve quality of life and relieve suffering. In Malawi it is still a challenge in pain control as most health workers are not trained in palliative care so they fear to prescribe pain medication as Morphine to patients in severe pain. As a Nurse I am not allowed to prescribe morphine so in doing this will help me be empowered to prescribe morphine hence promote lives and relieve suffering in palliative care patients. Ndimoyo Palliative care centre is a centre for excellence in provision of palliative care to patients in Malawi. At Ndimoyo trainings are conducted to health workers from all over Malawi therefore the acquired knowledge and skills will be transferred to students who come come for short courses at Ndimoyo and students who come for clinical placements hence improve quality of palliative care in Malawi.