Visitor MR0603 
| Visitor |
| Sex? |
male |
| Profession/occupation? |
orthopedic surgeon in training |
| Home country? |
Switzerland |
| What made you want to go to
Solomon Islands? |
talking to a previous visitor |
| Did you go alone or in company? |
alone |
| Arriving in Solomon
Islands |
| When did you arrive in Solomon
Islands? |
September 2006 |
| Did you encounter any
bureaucratic difficulties? |
no, don't even know if they looked at all the papers that
I sent in advance... |
| What was your first impression
after arrival? |
not so humid as everybody wrote |
| Living in Solomon
Islands |
| What did positively surprise
you? |
they had most basic medical facilities |
| What did negatively surprise
you? |
Some work attitude. Some of the hospital personnel seem
not to think |
| What took longest to get used
to? |
humidity (increased some days after my arrival) |
| What did you miss most in
Solomon Islands? |
jogging on a rainy November day along the Limmat |
| What should you have brought
along? |
pictures from my home, country, town, hospital,
university, school, to show the locals |
| What did you do to prevent
malaria? |
Lariam weekly, and the usual mosquito prevention. No
problems at all |
| Place and province where you
spent most of your time? |
Honiara, Honiara-City |
| Other places/provinces where
you stayed? |
Western Province holiday trip with afternoon work at Gizo
Hospital |
| Where did you stay? |
Kiwi-House in Honiara. I was told that they look for a
house for me to stay, but they didn't find any and probably
weren't looking for... Phoebe's Resthouse in Gizo. |
| How long did you stay at each
location? |
5 months in Honiara, one week in Gizo |
| How much did you pay for
each? |
Honiara: nothing; Gizo: SBD 75/night |
| Where did you usually eat? |
dinner: mostly cooking at Kiwi-House with students, for
lunch breaks: Yacht Club |
| What did you typically pay for
a normal meal? |
Yacht Club meal SBD 28, beverage (coke) SBD 8, dinner:
meal SBD 45, other places up to SBD 150 |
| What local food/beverage did
you like most? |
kumara (sweet potato), mud crab, coconut crab |
| What local food/beverage did
you like least? |
coconut |
| Mobile
phone services |
| If you brought along a mobile
phone, which services did you successfully use? |
voice |
| Comments? |
I sometimes used a student's mobile phone. He bought a
local SIM card. Good. |
| Money
matters |
Used a Swiss Postcard and
Maestro debit card to get cash at ATMs
Used a credit card to pay for goods/services. |
| Comments? |
There is no need for Travellers Cheques!! Long queue
inside the bank!!! In Honiara and Gizo no problem at all to
get money at ATMs. |
| Working in Solomon
Islands |
| How did you usually go to
work? |
walk, from Kiwi-House 2 minutes |
| Where did you work? |
NRH, orthopedics |
| What was your occupation? |
registrar |
| What were your working days and
hours? |
8am till 5pm everyday, mostly longer, when on call at
least till 8pm |
| What was particularly difficult
in regard to your work? |
getting organised, time-consuming discussions |
| Did you feel accepted by the
locals? |
yes |
| What did you usually do in your
spare time after work? |
reading, swimming in a hotel pool, play soccer and
basketball with the locals |
| Questions
for medical trainees of all levels (students to
registrars) |
| How was the supervision? |
adequate |
| Comments |
- |
| How was the teaching? |
adequate |
| Comments |
- |
| Leaving Solomon Islands and
looking back |
| When did you leave Solomon
Islands? |
February 2007 |
| How long was your stay? |
5 months |
| How do you judge the length of
your stay? |
just about right |
| What did you learn from the
locals? |
to kill and cook mud crabs, to open a coconut properly,
to use ketamine for anesthesia |
| Your advice to prospective
visitors? |
DOCUMENT YOUR PATIENTS FOR YOURSELF ACCURATELY AND
COMPLETELY (Excel file to check if you took pictures
clinically, intraoperatively, x-ray pre- and
postoperative,...) |
| What did you miss most when
back at home again? |
my girlfriend |
| What did you enjoy most when
back at home again? |
hot shower |
| Would you go back for another
stay? |
maybe |
| Estimated total cost of your
stay (including travel costs)? |
CHF 8,000 |
| Additional comments? |
- |
