University Of Cape Coast Medical Students Complete Psychiatric Elective Placement In Top Dublin Hospital

Two clinical year students from the University of Cape Coast medical school, Nana Ama Kwansa and Ms. Regina Ahunu-Armah have each completed four weeks of sponsored elective placements in psychiatry at Ireland’s leading psychiatric hospital-St Patrick’s University Hospital. Nana Ama and Regina were the winners of the 8th Inter-medical schools public speaking competition to promote psychiatry to Ghanaian medical students.

The elective placement was fully sponsored by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services as part of the hospitals ongoing commitment to promoting global mental health especially in the developing world. So far, the competition has sponsored 23 Ghanaian medical students on elective placements in Dublin. The ninth edition of the competition will be held on Friday the 29^th of November 2019 at the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry Auditorium from 11am. The topic for this year’s competitions is: “Which costs society more; physical illnesses or mental illnesses?”. The general public and members of the media are invited to attend.

Below is a report prepared by Ms. Kwansa and Ms Ahunu-Armah on their elective placements at St Patrick’s University Hospital

Report of Psychiatry Electives in Ireland

Nana Ama Kwansa and Ms. Regina Ahunu-Armah

University of Cape Coast Medical School

Winning the 8^th edition of the Inter-Medical School Public Speaking Competition in Psychiatry, held in Cape Coast, Ghana was a dream come true, not only for bragging rights but also for the much-anticipated psychiatry rotation in the prestigious St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

On the 4^th of august, 2019, we arrived in Dublin not knowing what to expect but the warm welcome from the hospital management, the beautiful apartment, food and weather gave us a head start for an amazing and unforgettable experience.

Our supervisors, Dr. Eimear Doody and Dr. Marie Lynch after a comprehensive tour assigned us to various teams for our 4 weeks’ rotation in the hospital. These teams made up of learned doctors, nurses, psychologist and social workers imparted vast knowledge in the various subspecialties of psychiatry. Who knew that a whole new side of psychiatry existed across the ocean.

The sub specialties included psychiatry of later life, general adults’ psychiatry, dual diagnosis and addiction and young adult psychiatry. We were privileged to witness and participate in ward rounds, multidisciplinary team meetings, teaching sessions, rich variety of cognitive behavioural therapy s well as interactions with patients. One of the heights of our learning experience was our visit and work at the Electro convulsive therapy (ECT) clinic where we witnessed and took part in the therapy which is undoubtedly one of the most important treatment modality in psychiatry.

The conducive environment, highly professional staff coupled with ultra modern technology of St. Patricks Hospital fostered active patient involvement in management and facilitated quick recovery.

Ireland did not only offer us knowledge from the best in psychiatry, it also offered us memorable fun moments. From the Spire of Ireland, to the St. Stephens Green Park, Howeth beach, the Dublin Zoo, the Water Park, Dublin Museum and the delightful Tayto Park all served to make our trip wonderful one.

We would like to express our profound gratitude to Prof. Vincent Agypong of the University of Alberta, the visionary management team of St Patricks University Hospital and the scholarly teams we studied under for the opportunity to study and broaden our knowledge in psychiatry. Your efforts to improve psychiatry in Ghana and the world at large will not be in vain.

Source: Global Mental Health Ghana