Hello, my name is Sarah and I’m a Medical Physics trainee specialising in Radiotherapy. As part of my STP training, I had the opportunity to undertake a five-week elective training period and I was fortunate enough to travel to Tanzania as part of the HEE NE Tanzania link programme. During my placement, I worked in the Radiology department at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a large and busy hospital servicing the Kilimanjaro region. I gave daily lectures on Medical Physics to Radiology trainees and members of the department, covering topics including ultrasound, X-ray imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Radiation Safety.
As well as teaching, I was also able to observe the work undertaken in the Radiology department. Overall, I was really impressed with the equipment in the department – in the past year they have acquired a new MRI machine, a new CT scanner and two new X-ray sets. Not only was the imaging equipment impressive, but the staff were also highly trained and confident in operating the new machines. It was clear that the department was proud of the quality of its services, and everyone that I met was keen to learn more about how the equipment worked. At the weekends, we visited waterfalls, hot springs, banana plantations and other local attractions. We also travelled outside of the local region on two occasions: once, for a weekend Safari in which we saw the ‘Big Five’ and other incredible wildlife; and on our last weekend we flew to Zanzibar, an island paradise off the coast of Tanzania. I feel very fortunate to have had so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences during my trip, and so grateful for the support from HEE NE and Bright Northumbria that made this possible.
Sarah Barker