Experience report Clinic Nepal - December 2022

Four young doctors, each with two years of professional experience, report on their volunteer assignment in Meghauli and give an insight into the work on site.

We - that is Niko, Alina, Vincent and Jacqueline; doctors with two years of professional experience each - visited Clinic Nepal in Meghauli for about two weeks at the end of November 2022. We became aware of the clinic through internet research, as during our year-long world trip we also wanted to get to know medical projects abroad. At first we were in contact with Andrea from the German support association in Freiburg, who had been on site a few years ago and was able to answer all our questions reliably. We quickly also got in touch with Hari Bhandary, who founded Clinic Nepal 25 years ago and grew up in Meghauli himself. A very likeable and admirable man with an incredibly kind and hospitable family. Having arrived in Nepal, we got to know everyone and were able to stay several times in the guesthouse in Kathmandu with Hari's family during our entire stay. The six weeks in Nepal felt extremely familial thanks to the contact with Hari's family.

Meghauli is a small village near Chitwan National Park, which is absolutely worth seeing. During our time there we stayed with Ram Bhandary, who is the mayor and Hari's brother, and his wife Sabitri, which was really cool. We were always in the clinic in pairs, about 3 hours each in the morning and in the afternoon. The structure is quite well organised - a nurse as well as a laboratory and radiology assistant are always present on site.

In the afternoon, various Nepalese doctors usually come by, including GPs, a surgeon, an ophthalmologist, a dentist... At the time we were there the ultrasound machine happened to be broken, so the radiologist did not come to the consultation. Because the doctors hold the consultations in the afternoon, the patients usually also come to the clinic then. On the one day when no doctor was on site, as well as in the mornings, we saw and treated our own patients. The radiology/laboratory assistant interpreted for us in this. Our field of activity was then rather general medicine. We treated minor trauma, cared for chronic wounds, and paediatric patients also often came. In the afternoon we rather watched the consultation, as we had the feeling that the patients are very well cared for thanks to the good structure and the dedication of the Nepalese doctors. Various projects belong to the clinic, such as drinking water supply, a children's home or kindergartens. We visited the Wolfgang Linke Kindergarten and helped out for a few hours.

With Manesh, the local tour guide, we explored the jungle, which was incredibly exciting! We liked Nepal extremely much culturally and in terms of landscape. The Nepalese are a very hospitable people with incredibly delicious food. The Himalaya in particular is breathtakingly beautiful and, in our view, worth a few hiking days. We were on our way to Everest Base Camp and on the Poon Hill trek.

We are grateful for the valuable experience and the well-founded insight that we were able to get from Clinic Nepal and will stay in contact with Hari and the clinic.

Dr. Jacqueline Weiland Dr. Vincent Reichert You can view the experience report: