Chukwudi Ude

Working in this 100-bedded secondary care centre which is a major referral centre in Enugu, Nigeria, serving a community of more than 500,000 people has been a beautiful experience. I have worked in this hospital for almost 4years as a Senior Medical Officer. My role in this hospital will include:

Emergency department:

• At the emergency department, I am usually the first person on call and report directly to the managing consultant.

• I receive emergencies, take ample history, perform relevant examination and institute resuscitation, as well as send for necessary investigations include bed side urinalysis and clotting time in cases of Hypertensive disease in pregnancy, as well as bedside/urgent sonography, that will help lead to a diagnosis.

• I ensure a patient centered care plan is instituted by explaining the diagnosis to the patient and helping them understand it and also by involving the patient in the management.

• I also involve other medical professionals in management to ensure that the patient receives the best possible care.

• I also triage the activities of the emergency department to ensure that the dire emergencies receive care first.

• After stabilization, I ensure that the patients that require admission are referred to the appropriate department, I also carry out preoperative assessment for that require urgent surgical intervention in theatre.

CLINIC:

• The hospital runs clinic services everyday of the week excluding Sundays, which I participate in. We run two(2) days of antenatal clinic services and also two (2) days gynaecology clinic services weekly. Other days the Outpatient department focuses on other medical services like cardiology clinic, Diabetes clinic, GP consultations etc.

• Here, I attend to relatively stable patients by adequately assessing them and giving them the most appropriate care.

WARD:

• I make sure the patients in the ward are reviewed by the unit consultant

• I ensure that investigations report are dully collected and ready for ward rounds.

• I carry out the post ward rounds instructions including writing discharge summaries and follow up visits.

• I also carry out Senior Medical Officers ward rounds and report directly to the unit Consultant.

THEATER/CALL DUTY:

• We have 6 functional theatres and I assist in performing both elective and emergency surgeries such as caesarean section, exploratory laparotomy, myomectomy, hysterectomy, Laparoscopy and Dye test, Laparoscopic salpingectomy etc

• I also take about 5-6 call duties monthly during which I work with other medical professionals and report directly to the unit consultant.

I also assist in other surgeries like Appendectomy etc

LABOUR WARD:

• With the help of the well trained nurses, I monitor progress of labour using the Pathograpgh and intervene as required.

• I take deliveries and repair episiotomies.

• I also manage any complications such as Primary post-partum haemorrhage etc

Other roles I also carry out include

• Educated and mentored more than 10 medical students and nurses preparing for exams
• Improved patient outcomes and delivery of care through improved clinical quality processes.
• Worked with research and pharmaceutical organizations to conduct clinical trials.
• Reduced hospital readmission rates through effective discharge planning and follow-up care coordination.

• As the first on call in the accident and emergency department, attending to various emergency cases, and facilitating referral to appropriate specialties for continued management
• Requested the appropriate medical tests and formulated treatment plans
• Took medical history from newly admitted patients, performed detailed examination, and reviewed findings with consultants
• Responded to routine ward bleeps as well as crash calls for emergencies
• Participated actively in consultants and medical officers' rounds
• Carried out basic bedside procedures like intravenous cannulation, venesection, urethral catheterization, nebulization etc
• Wrote discharge letters, referral letters and other interdisciplinary documentations
• Took part in audit assessing the satisfaction of patients with the nursing care
• Worked closely with the nurses and the consultant anaesthetist to care for patients in the ICU
• Passed nasogastric tubes, urethral catheters, intravenous cannulation, endotracheal intubation for unconscious patients and femoral line under the supervision

I also worked in the New born Unit where I;

• Monitored patient progress and adjusted treatments accordingly.
• Enhanced patient satisfaction with thorough assessments, diagnoses, and treatment plans.
• Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current with advances in medicine and enhance clinical skills.
• Assisted senior physicians and surgeons during assessments, examinations and surgical interventions.

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki is a 600-bedded hospital where I worked at as a Medical house officer for my one year of compulsory, uninterrupted internship. During the period of my training in this hospital, I rotated through the following departments;

A) Obstetrics and Gynaecology

B) Internal medicine and Psychiatry

C) Paediatrics and child health.

D)Surgery (Orthopaedics, Plastic, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Paediatric surgery)

E) Haematology and Blood transfusion: This was a secondary posting done within the period of my rotation through internal medicine department. Also, In the course of each rotation, I had rotations in the Emergency/Trauma units which exposed me to a lot of emergency conditions as well as acute medical cases.

OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY DEPARTMENT: I was involved in both in-patient and out-patient care of patients under the supervision of consultants and registrars. My duties were on the ward, in the clinic, theatre, and at O&G emergency units exposing me to myriads of cases.

I was also involved in the preparation of patients for surgeries, assisted in some, and participated in post-operative care.

I learned how to monitor labour, use and interpret the pathograph, giving and repair of episiotomy. Also, I made regular presentations of cases both in the ward and during daily departmental meetings.

INTERNAL MEDICINE AND PSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT: Attending daily to various cases in the wards and the clinic alongside emergency call duties. I was saddled with the responsibility of summarizing patients' history before consultant ward rounds and carrying out all post-round duties. I was able to interpret ECGs, pass NG tubes, pass urethral catheter, IV cannulation and venepuncture.

PAEDIATRIC DEPARTMENT: I was directly involved in the day-to-day management of paediatric cases like asthma, malaria, acute gastroenteritis, pneumonia, acute bacterial meningitis, etcetera. Neonatology rotation exposed me to the management of several cases which included birth asphyxia, neonatal jaundice, neonatal tetanus, neonatal meningitis, pneumonia, severe malaria, and so on. We regularly had

audit meetings where we reviewed our monthly morbidity and mortality.

SURGERY DEPARTMENT (CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY, BURNS AND PLASTIC SURGERY, GENERAL SURGERY UNITS AND

ORTHOPAEDIC): I encountered common surgical cases including acute and chronic conditions whilst rotating through these units. I was able to pick up basic surgical skills e.g. suturing, incision and drainage, wound dressing, femoral tap. I also learned how to perform basic life-saving procedures e.g. needle thoracotomy, abdominal paracentesis, chest tube insertion under close supervision. I was actively involved in the preparation of patients for surgeries, assisted in several surgical procedures, monitored post-operative cases. I also developed a passion for teaching medical and nursing students undergoing clinical rotation.

Research Assistant
Duties included:
- Planning and prioritization of programs
- Internet research
- Literature reviews
- Qualitative and quantitative research
- Application of statistics in healthcare research
- Randomized and Non randomized clinical trials

I also;

• Streamlined laboratory processes for increased efficiency and reduced errors.
• Implemented quality control measures to maintain high standards of data integrity and reliability.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to achieve project goals and milestones.
• Presented research findings at conferences, enhancing the visibility of the institution''s work.