Braveheart – for our heroes on World Health Day

This poem celebrates all health care workers on World Health Day 2020, as they put their lives and time with loved ones on the line to keep us healthy. It is hoped that we all recognize the sacrifice and appreciate it by working together with them, following their guidelines, supporting them and help them to help us.

Braveheart

Sacrifice and duty

Passion and diligence

Are the traits that 

Drew me closer 

In an abstract way 

I knew you would face 

Battles and be at great risk

And you would love it

It is intense to support

as you head straight

Into harm’s way

Every day a close shave

Not afraid to catch it as 

You drag back lives from

The hands of death on the wards

and hallway, you give your all

What we have is more

Than gold and strong 

Enough to weather this

Yet I can’t stop the chills

I can not hold you

This space is for my safety

Yet all I want to do 

Is hug you tight

Armed with bravery and the oath

You set forth into danger each day

Leaving me at the window

Dying inside from the terror

• Oumissa

This poem was recently published in a collection Love Stories in a Pandemic by Folábòmí Àmòó

Download a free copy here.

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Mint Stethoscope – A Guide for New Doctors

Official ebook release poster

It is so exciting to see this book released finally.

I wish I had this guide before starting my house job journey but I remain grateful for all the guidance I gathered from different sources.

We at Health Hub Africa present our contribution to making the path easier for those coming behind us. We must end the cycle of undue suffering. The rigours of medical practice are enough to deal with. Young doctors do not have to face extraneous ones that do not help their overall growth, care delivery and wellbeing.

The radiant cover page

It has been shown that many who get disillusioned with medical practice feel that way due to the lack of support or proper guidance during their crucial first year. By sharing this free ebook, you are investing in the career of young doctors and by extension strengthening the Nigerian healthcare system.

List of contributors

Well done to everyone who made this a reality. It was an honour to be the contributing editor of this work.

Help share word by using this picture, the Twitter hashtag #HouseOfficersGuide and the download link bit.ly/mintstethoscope.

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Dr Mariam Toye

Editor

How Our Society Tells The Victim How To React – Danfo Episode

I am trying hard to get my breathing back to normal as I type this. It’s a sunny Wednesday morning and I have the good fortune of free Lagos roads. Looking forward to a great day, I try to enjoy my bus ride. But this city brings up the craziest surprises.

Somewhere around Yaba, a man who is carrying 5-foot long U-shaped iron rods gets down from the back and takes a seat at the front row where I am at the left window seat. I watch him as he arranges them on the floor around our feet and ask him to be careful.

Impact of iron rods on shoes

The regular battles with conductor for change go on. Next thing like a flash, I feel the weight of said iron rods suddenly fall on my feet. They had lost their precarious balance and landed on me and the lady beside me. I bear the brunt of the curved parts where they fold. Is this how my toes will get crushed? I shout in pain and annoyance asking him why he wants to paralyse me, the lady also said she felt some pain.

He picks them up and says “E má binú.”

Then he gets angry (the nerve!) and tries to seek sympathy for what he perceived as the hurtful choice of my words. I start to see stars at this point. He must be joking. This guy wants to send me to orthopaedic hospital on this blessed morning and has the guts to take offence at how I object to this?

Other passengers (women) plus conductor join in saying E má binú (sorry). I tell them sorry is not going to cut hospital bills and they should call Mr Iron Rods to account instead. He could have conveyed these dangerous metals in a way that does not maim other passengers.

This manner of entitlement , is it a Nigerian thing or a male thing or worse, both? I scream at him and tell him he has no right to gauge the intensity of my pain or to nitpick at my reaction. It’s in a mixture of English and Yoruba.

Next I hear , “Sorry eyin olóyìnbó” a non-apology mixed with a common street insult reserved for educated people. i.e. you are speaking too much English. I was not expecting this as he (barring his antics) appeared educated. I do not stop telling him that he hurt me badly and is doubly wicked for trying to play the victim. He then goes on to say a barrage of fake

Text Graphic- Welcoming Abdullah

Trust Your Journey

Mental health is coming into the limelight as a major threat to overall wellbeing for many people. When a celebrity is lost to suicide, it is easy to detach oneself from it. But when it affects someone close to you, it takes the shape of a more vivid reality.

It results in a rollercoaster of emotions. You feel sad about losing them, you feel helpless for not being able to help them.. you may even feel guilty in the terrible case that you may have contributed to their trauma.

Being a young doctor in Nigeria of today is an existence that is tough. The system is not suited to latest standards of care, your career prospects may look bleak, you grapple with exams, and you see your friends moving ahead in life. The mirages of good pay and prestige fritter away before your eyes as you run for cover (in both literal and figurative ways).

In all of this, it is important to have a good support system of both colleagues and mentors who can help navigate the treacherous waters and work together with you to find your way.

A colleague who is an epitome of excellence in her work, studies, leadership, friendship and helping others wrote this message on a forum for colleagues. In the hopes of reaching more people with this lifeline, I asked to share it here. Now, it was directed at a group of young doctors but it’s words can apply to anyone feeling like they are underachieving.

“Hi guys, good afternoon. This is random but I thought I should put it out here. I know it might seem like everyone is out on a path, figuring their lives out, getting married, getting fantastic jobs, writing and acing exams and stuff.

I just want to leave a word of encouragement to folks who feel their life is a mess or they have no idea what to do, say post housejob or post NYSC. Somehow, the government planned our lives from primary school to NYSC level and there might be someone here confused about what next.

Please guys, there are always folks around to help. We are a family here and I really like what Leo did some weeks back about appreciating everyone. Perhaps you’ve written IELTS again and again and keep failing, say Writing tasks, or you’re studying for USMLE and you keep forgetting what you’ve read or you lowkey did Primaries and didn’t pass.

Don’t worry, keep pushing, try again and again and again. Weird but I have this belief that if anyone who can pass 300Level Pharmac exam can pass any exam in the world. Perhaps you’re the one person that your whole family looks up to, you hardly saved anything during housejob because of responsibilities here and there and you don’t even have money for exams right now, always remember God’s got you and there’s a time for everything.

I honestly don’t know why this came to my mind this afternoon but please guys, SUICIDE IS NOT AN OPTION.

Have a nice day, fam.”

– Dr. Akudo Umeh

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I really hope this helps someone at least to trust their journey and believe they will surmount all obstacles.

______

OumissaInspire

060518

Lagos, Nigeria

Poem: Baby Listen

First Do No Harm – by Dr Lawal Abisoye

In work environment bedevilled with heightened stress and sometimes difficult conditions, it is imperative to remind doctors to pay attention to their physical and mental well-being. Dr Lawal Abisoye wrote a piece doing just that below.

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Good morning colleagues, a quick reminder.

We have a noble call, which is the servitude of mankind. Alleviation of sufferings and restoration of health is what we do. This takes a lot from us, physically, mentally, emotionally, morally and even spiritually.

I want to remind us that we are humans, however “super”. Our bodies, spirits and souls need to be looked after.

Eat adequately; have your breakfast, take adequate water, let your kidneys rejoice, take fruits in any and every form, even smoothies, exercise, pace yourself. Don’t stay on a liquid diet, don’t console yourself overtly with junk.

Take time off to rest, our activities call for sacrifices and stretching, not at the expense of your good health; recognize and embrace your limits; after all, you are also human.

We make a lot of withdrawals from our emotional bank. We aren’t numb to the sufferings of our patients, every death takes a piece of us. Give yourself time to grief, talk about it at least to colleagues that understand. Get a psychologist if need be; there’s a limit to bottling up, we all need sanity. Cry if you must, weep in your closet if you have to, you’ve earned it.

Don’t let anyone guilt-trip you into doing beyond what you can; you owe yourself a responsibility to be healthy. The funny thing is that you owe this responsibility to your patients as well.

Have a connection with God our Maker and in whatever belief you ascribe to if you don’t believe there’s a God. Spiritual health is as important and physical.

First do no harm.
Do not run yourself down.
Have a wonderful day and week ahead.

Ecstacy

______

Visit Dr Lawal’s Twitter thread

Keeping Sanity

Beat Malaria:World Malaria Day.

Via hellocare.ng:

Malaria is common in this part of the world. At any given point in time someone somewhere is suffering from malaria.

Last year, more people were killed by malaria than auto accidents, most of them were children under 5 years of age.

Malaria is not a joke.

Many people experience repeated episodes of malaria because they fail to complete their antimalarial doses.

These leads to increased resistance, meaning subsequent episodes become more difficult to treat.

Malaria should be taken seriously, a doctor should be consulted and treatment should be completed.

#BeatMalaria

For more information, click here.

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Vaccine Safety:World Immunization Week

Despite the fact that vaccines are among the most effective and cost-efficient health interventions, many children still die or have their development stunted due to rejection on the part of their parents.

This stems from the dual doubts of efficacy and safety. This piece explores both.

Read the rest of the article.