This coming January 2012, SMSV is organising a trip to Bharatpur Teaching Hospital in Bharatpur, Nepal to provide assistance to their staff in their screening and clinical examinations of rural communities. This will take the form of rural health camps and the aid of medical students will be needed to screen and examine the heavy patient load at these camps. Pre-clinical students will be aiding in more rudimentary examinations such as BP and basic general clinical examinations, while clinical students will be given the opportunity to take patient histories and conduct examinations with a view to forming a diagnosis before a local doctor sees the patient. Students will be paired 2:1 with Nepalese medical students for the sake of translation and to learn from each other.

A tour as well as teaching sessions will also be organised by the hospital to familiarise students with the medical examination conducted routinely in Nepal. Visits to local places of interest in Bharatpur will also feature in the itinerary, in between health camps. A rural health camp in neighbouring picturesque Pokhara could feature in the itinerary as well. After 14 January when the official itinerary ends, participants may choose to continue travelling instead of returning to Singapore.

The dates of the trip will be from 3 to 14 January 2012 and participants are expected to apply for their own visas as well as get the relevant vaccinations. Note that Nepal will be in the midst of winter during that period and participants are advised to pack sufficient warm clothing.

Accommodation will be in Bharatpur Global Hotel (800rs per night), and students are responsible for paying for their own meals (which is estimated to cost ~300rs per meal). The overall budget is estimated to be as follows:
Return Airfare: $1000
Accommodation: $150
Meals: $120
Ground Transport from Kathmandu to Bharatpur and back: $50
Administrative Fee: $30
VISA
Vaccinations
Total budget is expected to be around $1500.
All currency is stated in Australian Dollars.

The main objectives of the trip are to
1) Assist the staff with screening and clinical examinations of rural health communities
2) To inspire and expose participants to humanitarian missions and encourage them to continue doing such work in the future
3) To identify and develop an effective referral system linked with Bharatpur Teaching Hospital

Please register for the trip with the form attached below by 7th November. Successful applicants will be notified by email.