Education Mr. Vitalis

Mr. Anlaagmen Saadaare Vitalise is a medicine student, born in Damongo, Ghana. His wife and two young children also live here. He worked as a nurse for 3 years in Damongo. After that he studied to become a nurse practitioner for 1 year, which he practiced in the WGH for 1 year. Because he always wanted to become a doctor and was worried about the shortage of doctors in the WGH, he started a study in medicine. He studied in Cape Coast, a city located south of Damongo, accessible by a 14 hour bus drive. The study was very expensive, which is why he had to sell a lot of his personal property to fund it. This was discussed during one of the trips to Ghana and MUSTANGH was asked to sponsor him. Because MUSTANGH thought this was a great idea we found a subsidy provider for 11.300 euro! Now Mr. Vitalis didn’t have to worry about his tuition any more. After a few years of hard work he now has his degree and is working as a doctor in the West Gonja Hospital! Mr. Vitalis keeps us updated about his developments regularly. An overview of his most recent developments is given below.

Graduated!
After finishing his studies Mr. Vitalis immediately started to work in het West Gonja Hospital. He loves his job there and is very much appreciated by colleagues and patients alike. Besides that he always makes an effort to guide the students of Maastricht that come for an internship as best he can.

Last internship – March 2017
At the moment, Mr. Vitalis is busy with his last intership before he can start working in the WGH again as a doctor. He loves surgery and the picture below shows him undertaking a hernia reparation procedure.

Cape Coast
Meanwhile Mr. Vitalis started his practical internship in Cape Coast. He really enjoys it and is going to stay there for a year in total.

Graduation
Proudly we can announce that Mr. Vitalis has graduated and got his diploma. As certified doctor first he has to work at an by the government assigned place for two years. He is placed in Cape Coast and is going gain his first experienca as a doctor over there. After this he will return to the WGH and will become a staff member of importance.

Letter from Mr. Vitalis – Januari 2015
“Greetings to the board and members of the MUSTANGH Foundation. I hope every member and associate of MUSTANGH is doing well. I am coping very well in school, thanks to MUSTANGH. I am truly glad to be associated with the MUSTANGH Foundation.

It is my pleasure to update you on a few of my experiences during the last academic year and part of the current academic year (2014/2015). This period covered level 500 and part of level 600.

Generally, level 500 has been smooth with new rotations, modules and clinical experiences. Over the third semester period I have done modules on Mental Health, Forensic medicine and Toxicology, Integument, Community Medicine, Investigation of disease, Ageing impairment and disability, Blood, Neuroscience, as well as Oncology and Palliative care. I also had clinical experience and rotations in the following areas: Community Based Experience and Services(COBES), Dermatology, Psychiatry, ENT and Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Anaesthesia , Trauma and Orthopedics. I was able to pass all my exams on one attempt with good results and I am currently in the last part of my final year. I particularly enjoyed my clinical rotation in Paediatrics and Community Based Experience and Service (COBES). I also did a six week elective rotation in General Surgery. During the period I had the opportunity to help at the West Gonja Hospital for one month. The first semester of level six hundred was also great with interesting experiences in orthopedics, ENT and Ophthalmology. I will be having my last few rotations in Internal medicine, Population and family medicine and General surgery.

I was pleased to receive two board members of the MUSTANGH Foundation, Willemijn Laumans and Kirsten Palm, who were in Cape Coast on 17th November 2014. It was a great experience to have them here. I had a nice time travelling with them from Accra to Cape Coast and back to Accra. We also had the opportunity to visit the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and Clinical Teaching Centre as well as the Cape Coast castle, a very important historic monument in Ghana.

I am currently in school for the final lap in medical school and I have been very busy. I have already finished rotations in Anaesthesia and Psychiatry. My next rotation will be internal medicine and therapeutics for nine weeks followed by surgery for nine weeks. I hope to finish by July 2015 and graduate in August, 2015.

Thank You,

Saadaare Anlaangmen”

June 2012
Mr. Vitalis has been doing a lot of interesting work over the last months. He was placed in a remote village for his community medicine internship. About this he says: ‘Honestly I did enjoy the community medicine programme, it was a time for a new experience outside the usual schedule. It was very interesting conducting interviews with the villagers and getting to know their health seeking behaviours.’
Further, he is part of a group of three students who found an anomality in the brain supply. He just published an article on this.
Lastly, Mr. Vitalis has received a laptop from MUSTANGH. In this manner it is easier for Mr. Vitalis to study at home in the evening hours when the library is closed. Mr. Vitalis expressed his gratitude to everyone who is facilitating his study through MUSTANGH.

October – November 2011
Mr. Vitalis has been chosen to participate in the ‘What do you know’- quiz in Accra. Here he battled other medical students together with his 2 classmates. In the end they ended in 2nd place. So well done, gratulations!
Besides the quiz Mr. Vitalis had been busy with a study block on neurology. The next block will be about infectious diseases.

White coat ceremony
The white coat ceremony is a ceremony for medical students to congratulate them on finishing their first year and to encourage them to do well in their second year. Of course also Mr. Vitalis could participate in the ceremony.