My medical elective took place at Mukinge Mission Hospital in the North-Western Province of Zambia. I spent four weeks there alongside a fellow medical student, Rachel, and was based in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Female Medicine. Going to a mission hospital had been on my heart for a long time, even before starting medical school, so I am incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity.

My faith and understanding of the gospel have grown during university, along with a growing desire to learn more about overseas mission work. As a future doctor, I hope to be a witness for Christ through my actions and patient care, so being able to work alongside Christian missionaries in a healthcare system different from my own felt important. With a lot of prayer and planning, God made this possible.

It is difficult to put into words how much I learned, but for me, three key words help to sum up the experience: discovery, fellowship, and joy. I discovered a healthcare system different from the NHS, encountered new tropical diseases, and learnt the importance of adapting to a clinical setting with fewer resources. The friendships I formed with other missionaries and local staff were a huge encouragement as we continually reminded each other of the greater purpose behind our work and could give this up to God in prayer. There was deep joy in serving patients with Christ at the heart, especially after seeing the compassion and servant-heartedness shown by the hospital staff.

A typical day began with Chapel before the morning doctor’s huddle and hospital rounds. At chapel we sang both an English and a Kaonde hymn, prayed for Mukinge and other mission projects around the world, and listened to a short devotional from the hospital chaplain or a guest speaker. During my first week in the maternity ward, I assisted with deliveries and caesarean sections, as well as helping the doctors with ward rounds. I was challenged by the realities of childbirth at the hospital, with the absence of epidurals and pain relief during deliveries. On the paediatric ward, I was able to clerk my own patients under supervision, admit them, formulate management plans, and review them in the afternoon. I also spent time with the nutrition team, overseeing malnourished children, learning the importance of hydration status, and educating mothers about regular feeding. In my final week, I rotated through eye clinic, cataract surgery, the female medical ward, and Psychiatry, once again seeing the challenge of having fewer resources and medicines than in the UK.

One of the biggest highlights was how Christ-focused Mukinge Hospital is. By starting each morning with prayer and worship helped centre my day on serving others in Christ’s name, a spiritual disciple that I believe bears much fruit. I saw the missionary doctors show so much compassion, love and patience towards their patients, and this was an inspiration to me in how I want to work in the future. Being a witness for Christ in medicine can be shown through loving patients from any background, being a good and intentional listener, with how you treat your co-workers, and in your attitude to work.

There were also challenges at Mukinge, including emotionally difficult cases, language barriers, and the ability to adapt to a new clinical environment. One case stands out, where a young girl was severely dehydrated due to gastroenteritis and had gone into shock. Her mother had not recognised the warning signs until her daughter became unconscious, and unfortunately there was not a good outcome. It was difficult to see how something so preventable could be missed due to a lack of health education for families and limited resources. This made me reflect on the privilege of having a developed healthcare system in the UK and to never take it for granted. In addition, it was more challenging to build a rapport with patients at Mukinge compared to in the UK because most patients spoke little English, so I often relied on an interpreter. However, this pushed me to be more intentional and clearer with my questions and show active listening and empathy through my body language.

My outlook on medical mission is that of a positive one, I have come back with a greater understanding of how it is to work in a mission hospital and the need for short-term and long-term staff to keep these hospitals serving their people well and with Christ’s love. I discovered new ways of caring for patients in a different clinical environment, I found fellowship amongst the missionaries and fellow hospital staff, and I experienced joy in seeing the deep compassion and love shown towards patients and in my own faith in the Lord. I have left feeling more confident in my clinical skills and career as a future doctor, feeling more comfortable with taking initiative and managing common presentations. I appreciate the need for prayerful and financial support for these missions, and this is something I will remember going forward as I see where God opens doors to support overseas mission. For anyone who has it on their heart to go to a mission hospital for their medical elective, you will gain far more than seeing new medical conditions and developing clinical skills. You will encounter challenges along the way but also a profound sense of joy in a community united by Christ’s love and service for people.