Internship Experience Blog by Medical Students from Uppsala University, Sweden (Tove Lisa Marie & Mathilda Karlsson)

We are two medical students from Sweden, that now in our last year of medical school have had the opportunity of coming to Nepal and Golden Community to write our master thesis. We have both developed an interest in children’s and maternal health during our studies, however we have been missing some of the global perspective. I, Tove, was traveling and volunteering at a rural school in Nepal a few years ago, and the country came to make a big impact on me. I, Mathilda, have been working as an assistant nurse in both post-delivery care and children’s emergency ward in Sweden, and realized during the pediatric course that this is where my heart is.

Considering all this, coming to Nepal to work with newborn survival seemed like the perfect opportunity for us. Through an inspiring lecture, we made contact with Dr. Ashish KC and Professor Mats Målqvist who’s been working with Golden Community. And that’s how we ended up packing our bags for Nepal!

In our project, we have gained insight in the MALA and REFINE projects. We have focused on evaluating the different methods of documentation on neonatal resuscitation that have been implemented through these interventions. As interns at Golden Community at the office in Lalitpur we received a warm welcome. During our time there, we have had the chance to learn more about the work of this organization as well as making friends over cups of masala chai and large Excel sheets. Database manager Omkar Basnet was our constant support, he always took his time to help us out. Thanks to Mrs. Honey Malla and Mrs. Pratiksha Bhattarai, we also got the opportunity of observing a PDSA meeting and simulation- training at the Paropakar Hospital.

Although it was a bit sad to leave the office, we ended our stay in Nepal by visiting Bharatpur Hospital where we were introduced to the work at the NICU and delivery ward. We met with a dedicated young doctor, Dr. Niruta Báral, who provided some insights on the challenges as well as prospects when it comes to children’s health and survival in Nepal. We leave Nepal with experiences that undoubtedly will be valuable for us as doctors in the future. A warm thank you to Golden Community and everyone making this possible, we hope to come back some day as finished doctors and contribute to your important work.