Derek reminded of the strength and exceptionalism of the staff at Tafelsig Clinic

In our second to last week in Cape Town a few of the medical students, myself included, decided to switch up the internship placements. I will admit I have been very curious to see what I’ve been missing out on. If I didn’t so adamantly choose Tafelsig during the interview would my South African experience have been drastically different? This Tuesday, Mariko and I were the first to switch, she took the luxury bus with Joe to Tafelsig and I got to catch a mini-bus taxi with Collette and Libby to Melomed in Gatesville. Maybe it’s because I take them so rarely, but I haven’t understood the stigma around mini-bus taxis; in fact, I’m always super excited to take one. Mini-bus taxis have character in my opinion, there’s always loud, indiscernible techno or African music blasting at high tempo and full volume and a crowd of people are stuffed in and conversing. The one we hailed that morning was no different and I was thoroughly amped for my out-of-routine day. The difference in funding between Tafelsig and Melomed was immediately evident. As Melomed is a private hospital and Tafelsig is a governmentally funded free-clinic, I was expecting some differences in equipment and procedures but this was insane. When we walked into the building, I thought we were somehow misdirected and ended up in a hotel. The reception looked like a concierge, there were at least 5 floors, and many glossy elevators lined the hallways. The hallways of practitioners and wards were endless, and each of the hundreds of patients were hooked up to the most advanced medical equipment. With the vast amount of resources available medical or not, the staff here took for granted what the staff at Tafelsig considered as luxuries. Changing of gloves were mandatory if the slightest amount of contamination was suspected, if you walked into a new room you had to wash your hands and every time the soap and towels were properly stocked, no one had to run from room to room searching for the staff member that was using the blood pressure cuff or glucose machine they needed for their patient, and at tea time refreshments and sugar were in abundance for the stuff. Most of what is listed is basic medical practice and not until Melomed did I realize how well I became acclimated to coping with the budget deficits in Tafelsig; it became normal to expect that gloves, machines, and medicine would be out of stock and that I would have to adapt to consult my patient. Once again I was reminded of the strength and exceptionalism of the staff at Tafelsig.

This morning, I woke up way too early to visit Maitland Cottage with Maria. On Fridays the hospital, runs a special practice in which the doctors solely attend to the reparation and maintenance of young kids with club foot. These kids come in from all over the country to have the doctors inspect, cast, or operate on their feet to ensure that their bones are growing in properly. I was able to aid the doctors by holding the children’s feet in place as they were casted. Although I was just a visiting student all the doctors were very enthusiastic and went out of their way to teach me all they could about the abnormality and how to mend it. This medical facility is a non-profit alike Tafelsig; thus, I saw more similarities between the two than with Melomed. After the club foot session, I explored the children’s wards with Maria and got to see with my own eyes how much the kids love her.

I must say that each medical placement I visited was a unique experience. I’m very glad I had the opportunity to spend a day at each as I know I would have regrets and would wonder what my life in Cape Town would have been like had I given into my safe self and had not pushed for the crazy clinic that goes sees four hundred people a day. I may be biased in my opinion, as I’ve spent so much more time and created significant relationships with the people at Tafelsig, but I believe that I was placed where I needed to be. In reflection of all the goals I had in choosing this abroad program, Vernon placed me in the perfect internship.