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Time table Nkhoma Hospital
Weather Shopping Leisure Worship Visa Money Time table Every day starts at 7.00 am with handover for all nurses and clinicians by the night staff at a building of the nursing school. Any special concerns are also discussed in this meeting.
On Wednesday we start all together at the chapel and often a small handover is done on the wards afterwards.
On Tuesday the handover is done in the specific wards, and not together at the nursing school.
On Monday and Friday we also have some in-service training. We try to have a presentation, prepared by one of the clinicians. We often ask visiting doctors or students to give a presentation as well. Ward-rounds are done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings are reserved for elective surgery, often extending into the afternoons. In those mornings one or two clinicians stay in OPD and attend to urgent ward matters. Monday mornings Ante Natal Care first visits are done by midwives.
Wednesday mornings Under Five clinics are done by Primary Health Care nurses. On Wednesday one medical officer works in ABC-clinic, a private clinic in Lilongwe, to earn some extra money for the hospital. There will be an opportunity for students to visit the clinic as well, as it is very nice to see the difference between Nkhoma Mission Hospital and private care in town. Thursday mornings Ante Natal Care follow-up visits are done by midwives. Outreach clinics for under-five clinic, ante-natal care and family planning are done on Tuesday and Friday mornings If it is not too busy it is allowed to have tea-break 10.30-11.00 am, tea and bread is available in theatre for people working there.
Lunchtime officially 12.30-14.00 pm, but often starts later due to busy OPD. If enough medical officers are available, one of us has a break at 12.00-13.00 and the rest at 13.00-14.00.
Day finishes officially at 16.00 pm but often later due to busy OPD. Nurses schedule is from 7.00 am to 4.00 pm or from 7.00 am to1.00 pm + 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. Nightshift is from 7.00 pm till 7.00 am. Weather Winter in July-August can be fairly cold (15-20 degrees in the day, <10 degrees at night), realise that there is no central heating and houses and hospital are built to keep the heat out (bring warm clothes and sweater). The hottest season is in October-November, just before the rainy season starts (25-35 degrees in the day, 20-25 degrees at night). In the rainy season, November to April, there are usually daily thunderstorms, but it can rain throughout the day. Roads and paths in Nkhoma are not tarred, so your shoes can get rather messy this time of year. You are advised to bring an umbrella or buy one at the local market in the rainy season. Do not forget mosquito repellent, long sleeves and long trousers/skirt at night!
Shopping Nkhoma has a local market area with a few small shops. The main groceries (rice, pasta, flour, oil, milk-powder, soap, toothpaste, etc) are available in small amounts in these shops. Vegetables and fruit of the season (tomatoes, onions, cabbage, etc) are sold daily at the market. Meat is sold on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Meat sale starts after 9.00 am, due to checks by the local vet. In Lilongwe there are big supermarkets (Shoprite and Foodworths) where they sell anything including fresh and tinned food, cleaning materials, toys, kitchenware and car and garden appliances.
You are advised to buy some food when you are arriving, so that at least you have something to eat in your first week at the guesthouse (think about rice, pasta, bread, peanutbutter, jam, fruit)!!! Leisure Hiking to the hut (1 hour) or the top (2 hours) of Nkhoma mountain. Nkhoma has a squash court. Please bring your own racket and balls. Visit Dedza (1 hour drive): pottery, tea-garden, hiking in Dedza mountain. Visit Lilongwe (1 hour drive): shopping, swimming, golfclub, etc. A weekend trip to lake Malawi at Senga bay (3-hours drive from Nkhoma, with public transport it will take longer) or Cape McClair (4-hours drive, own car needed).
Worship On Sunday there is an English service at 8.00am and a Chichewa service at 10.00am in the main CCAP church. The hospital chapel has prayer meetings in Chichewa every day at 7.30am and Sundays at 8.30 am. Visa When you arrive at the airport you will get a visa for one month (for free). If you stay longer, you have to go to the immigration officer to get a visa of another 30 days (cost 35UD Dollars) or 60 days (cost 70 US Dollars). If you stay beyond that period, you will have to leave the country (although it is not legally accepted). If you will volunteer with us for a long period, we can always see if we can arrange a work permit.
Money The currency used in Malawi is Malawi Kwacha. Nowadays you can easily draw money from the Stanbic bank (visa, mastercard, maestro). In every town you can find a Stanbic bank. Other possibility is bringing US Dollars or Euros. Travellers cheques are not often used any more.
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