I had packed and repacked my bag 3 times over the last few days & could not have been more prepared if I tried, now was as good as any time to embark on my first ever overseas trip to Vietnam. What had we got ourselves into? Only time would tell for nursing student Karita...
Nursing & Midwifery
Charles Darwin University, Griffith University & La Trobe University
Vietnam
January 2020
Favourite part: Being surrounded by the most caring nursing students
Author: Karita McCarthy
Where we went
Trip Itinerary
Hanoi, Vietnam
Mai Chau District, Hoa Binh, Vietnam
Cun Pheo, Mai Châu District, Hoa Binh, Vietnam
Village Homestays, Mai Châu District, Hoa Binh, Vietnam
Travel Log
Friday 3rd January, 2020
My journey began at 12am in the morning catching a flight from Darwin to Singapore, was I prepared? Had I packed enough necessities? I had packed and repacked my bag 3 times over the last few days & could not have been more prepared if I tried, now was as good as any time to embark on my first ever overseas trip to Vietnam. I was very worried about finding the group in Singapore but my team mate Angela was at the gate to get me, I honestly didn’t know how I would even survive the stay over at Singapore airport, it felt like it was as big as the whole suburb that I live in in Darwin! Most of the girls had flown in from Brisbane so they were all waiting for me in a lounge at the Singapore airport and I must admit we all hit it off immediately it was so good to be with my new family and to see that we were all scared! What had we got ourselves into?... only time would tell...
My first experience of the language barrier came quickly with a lady by the name of Josephine she was sitting next to me on the flight to Vietnam and was from Singapore, she could barely speak any English and I began early to realise that there are so many ways to communicate even if you don’t speak the same language.
We got picked up for a ride on the bikes and taken for a loop around Vietnam and then dinner at our first restaurant..... ???
We all had an early night as a big three weeks was coming our way ...
Saturday 04th January, 2020
Day 1 in Vietnam — An orientation session, a beautiful lunch at ‘Hope Box’, an amazing organisation that house, employ and train women fleeing from domestic violence giving them a safe noise and giving them the opportunity to gain a certificate in hospitality.
Monday 06th January, 2020
We headed up to Cun Pheo today, up the mountains to our first home stay. Met our new hosts, had an orientation with the local pharmacists, sorted out our supplies and donations then got to spend the afternoon with a local family cooking a traditional Vietnamese BBQ.
Tuesday 07th January, 2020
Our first day in the clinic in Cun Pheo, We were given a roster & all assigned designated areas was working in the Assessment Team B.
People travelled from the mountains some as old as 60yo walking over an hour to get to the clinic. There is minimal stock, lack of much needed medications. The patients are all friendly and happy regardless of being unwell and they were all so happy to meet people from Australia.
Saturday 11th January, 2020
YAY!!! Free time!!! We moved to Sol Bungalow Resort Mai Cháu yesterday after our hospital placement. On the weekend we headed to the markets and did some much “needed” shopping!
Friday 27th January, 2020
The last two nights have been amazing!!
Tan Mai Village Homestay, Mai Châu District, Hoa Binh, Vietnam. We are travelling to work every day on a boat and I was in pharmacy today distributing the medications while meeting the most beautiful people on earth I am feeling blessed & like a changed woman.
We are now heading to Mai Chau Lodge, Chiềng Châu, Mai Châu District, Hoa Binh, Vietnam, we all need a long hot shower, some western food and sleep on a bed!
The lessons we learned
Sunday 12th January, 2020
Today was a great surprise for some of the girls in our group they got to watch a baby be born by c-section!!! A healthy beautiful bouncing baby boy.
Monday 13th - Friday 27th January, 2020
What a week!!! One week to go with this being the biggest cultural lesson for us so far, Vietnamese people are very proud people & you must be very careful when offering help to just one family or one group of people, the communities are very close and while daily assistance is accepted anything ongoing needs to be supported by the clinic and the interpreters to make sustainable longer term goals in health care accomplishable.
Thursday 23rd January, 2020
Today was a hard day and was the day most of us headed home. There were lots of tears in the morning as we all said goodbye to a group that had become our family over the last three weeks. There were so many different personalities and so many diverse backgrounds that it was hard to say goodbye after we had just shared the best 3 weeks, learning about ourselves and a culture that some of us loved and some of us are still trying to process.
Overall, the trip was the best experience of our lives, something that we will be talking about for months to come.
The impact we made
Monday 13th - Friday 27th January, 2020
This is our 4th clinic and in 4 days of clinics we are averaging 90-95 patients a day. We are all getting tired and cranky, wondering how we will make it to the end. So many sick patients, no solutions only band aid solutions to their problems, they walk for hours to attend our clinics and receive vital medications for issues such as cardiac issues and hypertension. I am now crying daily, this trip is not for the faint hearted it’s very emotionally draining and makes you realise how lucky we are in Australia!
There is a huge lack of understanding of the importance of drinking water especially in the harsh environments that they farm, work and live in daily.
Then the moment we have all been waiting for happened... a little girl 9yo enters the clinic, her father is confused he doesn’t know what is wrong with his daughter, saying she is mental, there something wrong with her... she never listens, falls on the floor, wets her pants and throws herself around and doesn’t listen, then she just goes to sleep... there wasn’t a nursing student not crying, we had all fundraised and didn’t know where to put the money as we could not save everyone! But now we can get this little girl to the hospital for the tests she needs, the right medications and help for what we believe at this stage to be epilepsy.... this poor man and his family, his daughter unwell from birth with no one understanding what was happening until now. This one little girl made every cold shower, every night sleeping on the floor, every bowl of rice and craving for Australian food worth it... our tears and prayers were not going unanswered if this program can continue further students can save many more children like this little girl.
After meeting with the interpreters it was discovered that it could be seen as inappropriate to help just one family, so it was discussed that the money could be left for the clinic and interpreters to work out the most effective way to help this family rather than just giving money directly to one family.
“This trip will make you appreciate all the things we have in Australia and make you realise just how much you have learnt at Uni!”
- Karita McCarthy,
Bachelor of Nursing, Charles Darwin University*
Student experience/extra bits
“Would I recommend this trip? YES!!!
Go get out of your comfort zones and do things that you would otherwise not do, going to a country like this will change you.... I struggled the most on this trip, I had never seen a country like this before I did not even have a passport prior to being accepted to go, I suffer from chronic anxiety and depression & had to push myself to limits I had never known before just to get through each day.
But I loved it and being with loving caring Nursing students that supported me all the way made me realise that I could do anything! This trip will make you appreciate all the things we have in Australia and make you realise just how much you have learnt at Uni!
Thank you so much to my fellow travel mates and thank you to everyone involved to make it happen!”
*This program took place as part of the Innovative Research Universities (IRU). IRU is a coalition of seven comprehensive universities committed to inclusive excellence in teaching, learning and research in Australia. The membership includes Charles Darwin University, Flinders University, Griffith University, James Cook University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University and Western Sydney University. This placement in Vietnam includes students from Charles Darwin University, Griffith University and La Trobe University.