Edith Cowan University nursing student, Demi, shares her Nepalese experiences and highlights during her day-to-day adventures on placement.
Nursing
Edith Cowan University
Nepal
November 2019
Favourite part: After 3 years of University, Demi was finally able to observe in a ward that was truly her passion - the maternity ward
Author: Demi Millner
Where we went
Trip Itinerary
Perth, Australia
Kathmandu, Nepal
Pokhara, Nepal
Travel Log
Day 1 - 12/10/19
The group arrived at Perth Airport at 3:30AM and departed for Singapore at 6:30AM where we arrived around 11:15AM. We had a great day exploring the Singapore Airport visiting the Butterfly Garden, Cactus Garden, Sunflower Garden and the Jewel Forrest. We got a phone call from Carol around 4:00 which informed us that our flight had been delayed for 24 hours due to the Kathmandu airport being closed as the Chinese Prime Minister had flown in that day. As frustrating as it was, we all made the most of this opportunity to see the sites of Singapore! We had dinner together and went and swam in the pool to refresh. It was a great day getting to know everyone and bonding. We have been lucky enough to have been put with an amazing group of girls that all get along so well. I can’t wait for the next 15 days!
Day 2 - 13/10/19
We spent the day exploring Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands Hotel to try and get to the top to see the view. Then, it was back to the hotel where we had lunch and a quick shower to freshen up before checking out. We headed to the airport and managed to have a quick and easy check-in for the flight to Kathmandu. We boarded the plane at 3:50 and landed in Kathmandu. Then we all piled in the minibus and headed to the hotel. Nepal to me looked very much like Africa with the housing, streets and people. It was very third world. We checked in, got our room keys, changed some money and headed to bed. I asked a man to help carry our suitcases as they were too heavy to get up to level 5 using stairs. We definitely take for granted how easy we have it a lot of the time. Straight to bed for an early rise.
Day 3 - 14/10/19
After waking and breakfast, we all piled into a van ready for our long journey to Pokhara where we would spend most of our trip. The trip took approximately 8 hours and we spent it chatting, sleeping and playing games. It was a great team building time where we got to know each other and make friendships which would only grow throughout the trip. We all had some laughs which made the day go super-fast. We checked into the hotel and met Sonam. We were all blessed by rubbing a red vegetable paste on our foreheads and a silk scarf around our necks. It was a beautiful little ceremony and we could see so clearly how grateful they all were to have us there. After an exhausting few days, it was nice to be in our ‘home away from home’, which we would call home for the next 2 weeks. We all met in the lobby for dinner at 6:20 where we then ventured out for dinner at a beautiful restaurant with Sonam’s family.
Day 4 - 15/10/19
Woke up at 6:00, ate breakfast then we headed to a cultural session with Rajesh who went through basic Nepali/Tibetan greetings and medical terms. We spent 2 hours running through these terms to assist us in the hospital. Eilidh seemed to be the only one really picking it up. We then headed to a great local Nepalese restaurant for lunch where the food was divine. After finishing up, we headed to the Tibetan Refugee Camp, had a look in a few stalls and the museum. We headed to a small shack for local buffalo and a variety of momos (dumplings) which were amazing. We then headed to Devis Falls which was a waterfall in the middle of town. After this, we got back to the hotel where we then divided the donations and decided what we were going to do with our donation money. We then headed up stairs to freshen up and then went out for dinner. Then, it was ready for the maternity hospital in the morning.
Day 5 - 16/10/19
Woke up at 6AM and headed downstairs for a nice milk coffee. The coffee is surprisingly really tasty. Headed up for breakfast and the lift was broken so looks as though our thighs and bum will be getting quite the workout over the next couple of weeks! Met downstairs at 7:45AM. Headed to Fishtail Hospital and had an orientation. All the nurses, doctors and chairmen humbly greeted us. They gave us a warm welcome and marigold neck garlands. They brought us in traditional Nepali Masala tea which is so yummy. We had a quick tour of all the wards in the hospital in which many we will be working in including; Maternity, NICU, ICU, Paediatrics, Surgical, OT, General, Emergency and many more. We enjoyed a lunch and headed back to the hospital to listen to a maternity talk. We then headed to Gandaki Hospital. It was amazing to see the difference between public and private in Nepal. In Nepal, a nurse gets paid more for working in a public hospital. Women also get paid to opt for a caesarean over a natural birth in Nepal. We then headed back to the hotel and brainstormed questions for tomorrow’s session with the nursing students. We met downstairs at 5:30 and went to dinner at Godfathers Pizzeria, it was amazing, and the view was even better!
Day 6 - 17/10/19
Ciara and I started the day waking up at 5am to be at the hospital by 6. We headed into the theatre with our clean scrub pants and Nineteen Degrees tops. We got to see a plate insertion (ortho) case and a toe-nail removal. It was extremely different to how healthcare is delivered in Australia. I felt a little faint and had to sit down. We had morning tea and enjoyed a Masala tea. We assisted in cleaning the instruments and putting together new operation kits which included drape towels, kidney dishes and instruments. We learnt how to scrub in the Nepali way and observed the post op progress and documentation. We finished up and headed to lunch. We had to rush as we were running late to educate our Nepalese students in the Australian health system. We had the girls and a boy in stitches and fully engaged. We had them sing their national anthem and then we sang our anthem. We then headed back to the hotel and decided to go on a lake tour while Carol, Emma and Allanis went on a hike up to a temple on the top of the hill. We paddled around the lake and went to a temple in the middle of the lake. We then went to a hidden waterfall. We headed home and got ready for dinner and drinks.
Day 9 - 20/10/19
We woke up and headed down for breaky. We asked if we could have egg and bread as we were all over the curry food. We all got on the bus ready for our bus ride home. The trip was full of laughs. I think we have all gained abs from such a hilarious trip, and we have all gotten along so well which is amazing. We got back to the hotel around 11:00. A few of us went shopping and others rested in the hotel. We met downstairs at 2 and gave Carol her birthday gift. We went to a few other lovely lakeside places with beautiful views. We bonded and reflected on the weekend we had just had, and all listed a peak and a pit of our health camp day. Everyone seems to agree. We ended the night with a lovely birthday dinner and arranged for a birthday song and cake to be given to Carol. We headed back to the hotel and headed to bed ready to get up bright and early for our helicopter ride.
The journey continues
Day 10 - 21/10/19
We woke up early to get on a helicopter ride to Mount Annapurna Base Camp. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR! The air and the views were so unbelievably clear. It was freezing up there and you could see frost on the shrubs. The helicopter ride was great and there were no issues. On the way home, Tarnia and my ears were blocked and severely painful. It passed within an hour of being on the ground though. We rushed upstairs to get changed, have a shower and all met downstairs for breakfast. Poor Eils had to miss out as she was not well. We then exchanged all our fundraising money for Sonam in the evening and a few of us spent the rest of the day shopping. We enjoyed a small lunch at Roadhouse, one of our regular places to go. Danika, Allanis and I did a little more shopping and then headed back to the hotel. We all met downstairs and pooled our fundraising money together. We have all the money going to Sonam and it felt so good to hand over the bulk of it and we felt so proud of our accomplishment. We then headed to dinner at the Harbour, which is a beautiful restaurant. We headed back to the hotel for an early night as back to the hospital tomorrow.
Day 11 - 22/10/19
Started the day very excited for what was to come. After 3 years of university, I was finally able to observe in a ward that was truly my passion. The maternity ward was very different to what it is in Australia. I spent the morning observing the nurses and it was very quiet. There were 2 gynae cases which included a lady in for booked hysterectomy and another for post-menopausal bleeding. There was one baby which was discharged quite early and the family did not speak any English. There was another lady whose baby was in NICU and another who was 35+5 weeks pregnant and was in preterm labour. They were not 100% sure and thought due to lower abdominal pain, it could also be a UTI. They gave an injection to help stop the mother from going into labour and I got to listen to a fatal heartbeat. We then met for lunch at 11:30 which was delicious. We rushed to our next education session which was the HIV Clinic. It was very informative but by this time, we were all very exhausted and tired. We got back to the hotel around 4:30 and organised to go for an early dinner. We went to Gorjus the same restaurant we went to on our first night and the food was great. We headed back to the hotel early and a few of us had a cup of tea and debrief of the day.
Day 12 - 23/10/19
Today was ICU Day for Louise and I, I was excited as I had not seen ICU in Australia. ICU was a little different and I got to see a few exciting things including intubation, extubating, a severe pressure injury, non-responsive patient, sat drop to 54% and a few other small things. We then went to lunch at our favourite restaurant where I tried the butter chicken, it was as they said amazing. We then headed back to the hospital where we had a community health lecture which we were meant to have on our first day but with the flight delay we had to change. On the way to the restaurant, beggars tried getting money and almost attacked Tsyring. The lecture was very informative, and it was interesting seeing the statistics in comparison with Australia. Nepal has almost 5 million more people living in it than Australia. We then piled on the bus and headed back to the hotel, which was lovely to not have such a long day. A few of us went shopping to get the final pieces we needed while others stayed back and chilled out. We all met downstairs and headed to another fave restaurant, Gorjus. Everyone pretty much ordered the same and we separated into our teaching groups for the next day. We got a few bits and pieces and enjoyed tea in Emma and Ciara’s room after.
The impact we made
Day 13 - 24/10/19
Headed down to breakfast and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee. We all then headed to the hospital where I spent most of the morning in NICU. As Friday’s activities had been slightly changed, I said I would swap with Jess, so she got to see a part of it also to spend another section of the morning in maternity. NICU was amazing! It was everything I could have ever asked for and I was fighting back the tear for the overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. I got to dress a chubby bubby and rock it to sleep. My dreams literally came true. Jess and I then swapped. Maternity was very much gynae again and was very boring. We all met downstairs at 11:30 and headed to lunch. After lunch, we got into our groups and performed our educational sessions. It was so much fun engaging with everyone and having a bit of a laugh. At 2:30, we sat in on a TB lecture, which was very informative. We then headed back to the hotel. Eils and I had a massage which was so relaxing while Jess, D and Tarnia got a tattoo. We then went to Altitude restaurant, which had very poor service. The girls ended up getting waffles on the way home. We all met for tea and had a nice debrief.
Day 14 - 25/10/19
Was originally meant to be in theatre this morning but due to the goodbye service, the hospital had put on for us things had changed. Allanis, Jess and I were been put in endoscopy. The procedures were super quick and the technique was not so clean. We had a beautiful farewell ceremony to begin the day and then also to end the day. The nursing students put on a beautiful show for us filled with lots of dancing and singing. We then presented them with their scholarships and equipment for the hospital. We made sure we gave one of the wheelchairs to Susma in OT as she was such a wonderful help throughout the placement. We also sang them a little song of our country. We shared some Tim Tams while they all sipped on some tea. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our farewell dinner. We headed to the Pokhara Fishtail Bookshop to drop off some more donations to Susma. We then headed to Moondance where we had dinner and enjoyed some beverages. The night turned into a bit of a birthday celebration, which was so great.
Day 15 - 26/10/19
Woke up, had breakfast and headed straight to the airport. We checked in and hopped on the flight to Kathmandu. We took Buddha Air, which was a small plane. The flight took 25 minutes and we had the pleasure of a scenic view of the Himalayas the whole way! We got into Kathmandu and collected our luggage and headed to our hotel. It was a lot flasher than our first one. We had a quick nap, some food and headed out so see what the streets of Kathmandu had to offer. The markets were amazing. It was the first day of their Diwali Festival, which was a Festival of Lights. We headed back to the hotel and watched the sunset from the rooftop balcony. It was breathtaking. We then headed out for dinner and enjoyed our second last night at a beautiful roof top restaurant called Third Eye. We then headed to bed, where we were all kept up until early hours of the morning from all the locals partying.
Day 16 - 27/10/19 / Day 17 - 28/10/19
We got to have a small sleep in and then met Sonam for breakfast around 8AM. We then met downstairs after packing our luggage up. We took separate taxis to the Seven Women Foundation which was an experience all in its own. The Seven Women Foundation was fascinating, and it was great to see the work women are doing for other women of the world. We then headed back to the hotel and did some last-minute shopping. It was the Day of The Dog and all the dogs had been blessed and had marigold flower garlands around their necks, it was a lovely sight to see. We had showers and got ready for the long-haul flights ahead of us. We headed out for an early dinner at the same restaurant as the night before as it was so good. The streets were filled with beautiful colours and lights and it was stunning to see. We headed back to the hotel and met Sonam at 6AM to head to the airport. It was an emotional farewell saying goodbye to such an amazing and wise man who made our experience in Nepal what it was. We headed to the airport and waited for our flight to arrive. Emma worked her magic once again and managed to have us check in priority. We got on the flight and slept until we got to Singapore. Then, we boarded the flight back to Perth and we were so tired but excited to get home.
We have all been so grateful for the most amazing experience. Without every single one of these amazing people, our experience would not have been the same.
“We have all been so grateful for the most amazing experience. Without every single one of these amazing people, our experience would not have been the same.”
- Demi Millner, Bachelor of Nursing,
Edith Cowan University