A Medical Volunteer from Hong Kong in Nepal: Tsz Hin Lee

Medical Volunteer Tsz Hin Lee

Volunteer Tsz Hin Lee (Hinson), from Hong Kong, during his medical program in Nepal. Volunteering abroad is the best way to gain experience whilst helping others.

I joined a 3-week medical volunteer internship and worked at the Kanti Children’s Hospital in Nepal through the NGO, Iko Poran Volunteer Abroad, from 3rd August, 2019 to 24th August, 2019.

4 expected learning outcomes:

(1) Gaining clinical experiences

I worked at the Kanti Children’s Hospital and had different nursing opportunities. For instance, observing and assisting in different Pediatric surgical operations, completing the nursing routines in Oncology Unit, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, giving Immunization to newborn babies such as vaccinations of polio, measles, mumps and rubella.

(2) Exchange nursing knowledge with volunteers from different countries and the hospital staffs in Nepal

– I met a lot of nursing students who were having placement in the same hospital
– I talked to them and had an understanding about their nursing curriculum
– they were having clinical examination and their school tutor invited me to join the assessment.

(3) Understand the healthcare system and situation in Nepal

– I understood how scarce of the personal hygiene education of the people are in Nepal.
– Infectious diseases such as dengue fever, scrub typhus, tuberculosis, which are very rare in Hong Kong, are serious health problems in Nepal.
– Although Kanti Children’s Hospital is the best children hospital in Nepal, the issue of shortage of resources and medical knowledge are still the great problem there.

(4) Be more independent

-Every morning I have to wake up at 5:30 am and help making the breakfast, doing house chores, and arrive at the hospital at 8:00 am.
Although my host family belongs to the middle class, their housing condition is bad when comparing to Hong Kong, such as clean-water is needed to collect from the water tank on the rooftop every midnight, no hot water for shower, no air conditioner, silt up of the sink which causing the flood of the kitchen and need to clear it up manually every day, etc. which I have to learn to live with them.

Conclusion

The ultimate goal of this internship is to better equip myself to be a more explorative, critical, and competent nurse in the future.

One o my unforgettable experiences in Nepal:
It is good to live with host family that I lived as if a Nepali, having simple but very joyful daily life there. The have short working hours which is only 6 hours and we could spend the time together after 2pm every day.
We cook, we chat, and we sing very often which enabling us to build up a very close relationship. They treated me as a family member and so their relatives, neighbors and friends did the same. A strong neighborhood. – Tsz Hin Lee, Hong Kong, Nursing year 4

How to work as a Medical Volunteer in Nepal?

As a medical volunteer from Hong Kong you can work as an intern at a Pediatric Hospital in Kathmandu.

Therefore this medical program is a great way for medical students to learn about the Nepalese healthcare system. Meanwhile, in Kathmandu you will start immersing yourself in the local culture. Your tasks will vary depending on your background, but if you have medical training or formal experience, you will be able to practice non-intrusive care for patients, under supervision from local professionals.

Visit our page with the Volunteer Projects in Nepal, including the medical internship at the Pediatric Hospital in Kathmandu.