Samantha Maddox

For my placement I took 3 weeks in Kathmandu, Nepal. I had the pleasure of being placed in a Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit (NIMCU). I found Work The World through a friend who had travelled with them. During my placement I was able to give baths to the newborns every morning, take their vital signs, perform drawing blood and IV insertions, and assist the doctors in lumbar punctures. 

Lumbar punctures are done on a procedure table in the corner of the NIMCU, where all the procedures are performed. During this procedure the doctors wore sterile gloves and used equipment that was previously used, but cleaned and wrapped in a new cloth each time. Back home, procedures like lumbar punctures are performed in operating rooms with all brand new sterile equipment. Drawing blood is also done a little differently just because of the lack of resources they have accesses to. We are able to insert a needle and attach the collecting tube to suction for the blood to come out, but in Nepal they don’t have suction pieces. Instead, after inserting the needle, they let the blood drip out slowly into the collecting tube.

One of the most interesting cases I saw was a newborn with Congenital Heart Disease. At home, this baby would have had heart surgery within the first 24 hours of being born. Here, the baby was initially placed in an oxygen head box and put on antibiotics. He was in the NIMCU for four days before being transferred to another hospital for the needed surgery. Because of the prolonged amount of time before the surgery, the baby had very low O2 sats and was  cyanotic.

Another interesting case that I saw quite often was a skin disease called Pustulosis. Over my three weeks in the NIMCU there was always at least one baby with this skin disease. It was not contagious and usually genetic or caused by smoke inhalation.

My overall experience with WTW was amazing. I highly recommend anyone to travel with WTW. You won’t regret it! I couldn’t have asked for a better placement or one with better people. This was an opportunity of a lifetime that I will never forget.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was all of the amazing people I was so lucky to meet. Everyone was so lovely, from the Work The World staff and other students to the nurses and doctors I worked with, and anyone that I happened to meet through my journey. 

I think the key to being successful in your placement is to be proactive. It is so important to stay engaged and ask if there is anything you can do to help. The nurses may not ask you to do things at first, but if you prove that you are capable, opportunities will present themselves.

The Work The World staff were so helpful throughout the entire process of getting my trip together. The MyTrip page gives you all the information you need to prepare for your trip. If you have any additional questions, the staff answer emails very promptly and are always available over the phone. Arriving in Kathmandu I was very nervous, but once I walked out of the airport, Uma, the Assistant Program Manager, was right there waiting for me. On our drive back to the house, she showed me places to visit and told me some things about the city. 

The city orientation was very helpful in learning the different areas and attractions we should visit, while also learning how to get to and from important locations. The hospital orientation was great because I was able to meet an elective coordinator and my nurse supervisor. I was given a tour of the hospital so that I knew my way around. I was also able to see the ward that I would be volunteering on.

In my free time I was able to do and see so many different things. One weekend we visited Chitwan National Park and went on an elephant safari, gave an elephant a bath, visited a local village, canoed, and trekked through the jungle. It was such an amazing experience. Another weekend we flew to Pokhara where we went on the zipflyer - the longest zip line in the world! The next day we went paragliding and saw absolutely gorgeous scenery. There were a lot of great restaurants and bars to relax at during the evening.

My overall experience with WTW was amazing. I highly recommend anyone to travel with WTW. You won’t regret it! I couldn’t have asked for a better placement or one with better people. This was an opportunity of a lifetime that I will never forget.