I had never been to Naivasha before. My recollections of ‘Vasha’ were mainly informed by the escapades flooding social media especially after Safari rally events. I love exploring and going to new places so it was both exciting and exhilarating to know that I was moving into a new town for my pharmacy internship.
The Clinical Training programme offered in Naivasha was the major reason I wanted to come to the internship centre. Having heard of horrifying stories of interns left to man the entire Outpatient Pharmacy on their first day, was even more reason to seek a place that had structures and people interested to walk with with us as interns through the whole internship experience.
My first day at Naivasha County Referral Hospital was amazing. We (the batch of new interns) were received warmly by our preceptors and allocated to our various stations. The expectations were laid out and immediately I knew this was going to be a really exciting journey.
I started my ward rounds in the Internal Medicine ward. I was armed with my scanty knowledge in Pharmacology and some hints of Clinical Pharmacy. I was nervous to begin with, seeing that I had self-proclaimed myself as the go to person for ‘all your medication needs’. The tension eased a bit when the consultant came in. She was welcoming, lively and wanted to teach. I was comforted by the multidisciplinary approach to patient care which gave everyone the chance to share their skills and knowledge.
In addition to everyday ward rounds, we had afternoon training sessions to discuss common diseases in our set up, we discussed patient files wholistically from history taking to work ups to diagnosis and finally management plans. We had jeopardy quizzes which made the entire learning fun and exciting!
I left Naivasha feeling more confident as a pharmacist. I realized knowledge is important but confidence is even more important. I am grateful to my preceptors; Dr. Douglas Osoro, Dr. David Muigai and Dr. Nickson Kinuthia for the amazing work of training Pharmacists that they are doing in Naivasha…a day at a time.
Pharmacy is a great profession with lots of opportunities. We all have a role to play in ensuring we safeguard the profession and to give the young upcoming pharmacists a wholesome worthwhile experience.
Viva la Pharmacie!
DR. KIREN GITOBU
Great experience and narration Dr. Kiren! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.