FAQs
1. What would happen if I require medical assistance- how far is the distance to the nearest town/city, where is the nearest A&E Dept/ major hospital located and how would I get there if required?
The Gudalur Adivasi Hospital itself is well equipped to deal with most emergencies at the secondary level. We have operating room, blood bank, all emergency medications etc. If there is a serious issue needing tertiary care, the nearest centre is in Mysuru ( 110 Kms) or Calicut ( 150 Kms). A taxi or ambulance will be available for transport.
2. What is the road network like in the area and what are the transport options available?
The hospital is located one Km from the national Highway. So very well connected.
3. What are the staffing levels in the hospital like and what level of supervision will I be given?
The hospital is staffed by the following full time doctors. There will be other visiting specialists:
- Dr Nandakumar Menon FACS, Diplomate of the American Board of surgery- General surgeon
- Dr Shylaja Devi MD – Obstetrician
- Dr Mrudula – Dip in family medicine
- Dr Sandra – Junior doctor
- Dr Rayna Teresa Raj – Junior doctor
- Dr Ravi – Visiting Anesthesiologist
- Dr Jithendranath – Visiting Anesthesiologist
- Dr Dhanya – Dental Surgeon
- You will be in a structured program with supervision from the doctors and other staff including psychologist, counselors, nurses, social workers through out your stay here.
4. Will their be an induction or orientation to help to avoid cultural conflict with the local tribal people?
Yes, you will have an introduction to the work and the people.
5. The medical school would like more details on the ASHWINI Foundation in terms of your credentials, safety protocols and what support/assistance you are able to provide.
Details of ASHWINI are available on the website www.ashwini.org. The registered charity status, financials etc.
If there are specific questions that they would like to be answered, this can be done.
6. How many people are likely to speak English and are there any opportunities for us to learn the language?
All our doctors , most of our admin staff and 25% of our nursing staff know English(speak, read, write).10-15% of our nurses can communicate in English. Of course you can learn language if you are interested 🙂
7. What is the risk of blood borne viruses? Are these any prevalent in the area? Will we undertake clinical procedures? If so, what level of supervision will there be?
The prevalence of blood borne viral infection among the tribal population is very low and there is only one HIV positive patient in our active area of work among the tribals.
The students don’t do any procedures and its more an observational role.so the chance of exposure or injury is almost non-existent.
8. What will the Programme at your place include?
It is a 4-to-6-week Rural Development Programme organised by Association for Health Welfare in the Nilgiris (ASHWINI) and accredited by the Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU). You will be enrolled in this programme and on successful completion of the course, a certificate will be awarded.
Students will spend time at ASHWINI, a charitable organisation that provides health care to the aboriginal people (tribals) of the Nilgiris mountains in South India. They will rotate through the fifty-bed secondary care hospital (Gudalur Adivasi Hospital) as well as the extensive community health
program.
A structured program comprising clinical exposure, field visits, lectures, discussions around social issues. The objective is to observe and understand the health issues of marginalized communities, holistic approach to health and the optimization of health care in resource poor settings. Students will be encouraged to take up projects of their interest.
The program here is planned according to what you have given as your interests .
check out this link to get an idea on how the program is planned.
https://medicalstudentelectives.in/course-details/
I am sure the posting will be most beneficial for a student wanting to understand international health.
9. In the accommodation, what are the risks of crime or fire? Are there any other aspects you’ve had problems with?
We have first aid fire appliances in place and have fire safety protocols that we follow. We haven’t had any such incident till date. Its quite a safe place that way.
10. Are there any facilities for contacting home such as pay phones or internet?
We have full time net connection in our hospital. You will be staying at our guest house which is just next to hospital.
11. The name, title and job role of the programme supervisor
Dr Mrudula Dip in family medicine will be your programme supervisor.
The email ID of the contact person at the hospital
12. Where will be our stay?
You will be staying at our guest house which is in the hospital campus.
Address-ASHWINI guest house, Kotheravayal, Gudalur, Nilgiris 643212.
13. Whom to contact regarding stay and local travel?
We will mail you the details of your pick up from airport, accommodation etc at least a week or two before your travel.
Mr.Krishnadas is the person in charge of travel, stay and food while you are here.
14. What food do we get to eat during our stay there?
The Guest house provides vegetarian food and egg. You can let us know if you are allergic to any food and also about any other food that you prefer not to eat.
15. Do I have to take vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis ?Do you have a store of reliable rabies immunoglobulin and vaccination?
You don’t need the vaccination as there no prevalence of encephalitis in this part of the country. Yes rabies vaccine is freely available and immunoglobulin easily procured if needed. No malaria either.
16. How good are the transport links? Is there a main train station/ bus station close by going to main cities? What about in Gudalur itself? I read there is a market but are there things to do in the evenings? Any eateries/ restaurants etc?
No train from Gudalur, But plenty of buses to the nearby cities and also to reach the nearby train stations. Buses, cars or jeep could be used to move in and around Gudalur.
There are restaurants/eateries in the town. Apart from that, if you are interested in nature, trek/walking or bird watching, you could do more of that .
17. About the accommodation – is it single rooms or shared? Ensuite bathrooms or shared?
We have both single rooms and twin sharing rooms with bathroom and also shared ones. It is based on the availability at that time. These are simple & clean accommodations.