Medical mission trip – We're All Med Here

Kenya Series! What To Pack?

Okay Ya’ll.

I was given a 3 page packing list of what to bring for this trip per the professor heading it. It was nicely broken up between what to put in our carry on and what to put in our checked baggage.

Since we were traveling for close to 24ish hours to get there, he told us to make sure we had a spare set of clothes in case our luggage was delayed. And also so, ya know, you weren’t having to wear the same dirty clothes. We left Kansas City on July 2nd, at around 12pm. We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on July 3rd, 9pm. We then stayed the night in Nairobi, and took a small plane the next day to Kisumu. So yes, I packed an extra day of clothes lol.

There is an 8 hour delay between Missouri time and Kenya time by the way.

Recommended Carry on:

Like I said before, an extra change of clothes.
Toiletries
Medications
Passport/copy of flight/yellow fever vaccination card/visa
Snacks for traveling (I brought Kind bars and Cliff bars for the trip)
Camara/small flashlight/travel alarm clock
Small locks for suitcases
Warm fleece or light jacket.
Sunglasses/regular glasses
Converter (Kenya is type G). I honestly had no idea there were multiple types of outlets in the world. I clearly don’t leave the States much…
Earphones/earplugs (I couldn’t sleep without earplugs while I was there)
Kleenex
Binoculars
Baseball hat
Alcohol wipes/clorox wipes (Didn’t use these much on the plane because I’m fine with germs. Makes my immune system strong! But I know people who did use them)
Empty ziplock bags
Otoscope, ophthalmoscope, & stethoscope
Books/ipad
Chargers

Reminder this is for the way there. I wanted to check my instruments in my checked luggage for the way back. Unfortunately my otoscope/ophthalmoscope has a lithium non-removable battery. So it had to come with me on my carryon on the way back.

Funny story…

The year before us, the Kenyan security/cops at the airport had pulled a student over to the side because they accused him of having a sex toy in his carry on, when in reality it was just his otoscope kit. The said student freaked out, and he was questioned for a bit. Big headache for our amazing professor who brought us lol.

Well the Kenyan security/cops also stopped me because they thought the same thing. However instead of freaking out, I just started pulling it out AND THEY STARTED FREAKING OUT. NO NO NO! Shaking their hands at me. LOL. I’m a hoot.

One of my classmates explained to them as I was pulling it out to show them that it was for looking in ears and when I put it together and turned it on they were less upset.

Anyways. Turns out I’m still a spicy meatball in another country lol. Also don’t bring sex toys in your carry on.

What I packed for my carryon:

Mostly all of that. I also packed:

I packed an additional 2 pairs of undies, 2 pairs of socks, 2 sports bras as part of my additional clothes. I have packing cubes and I just used a small one to put all my clothes in.

I packed my sleep mask, an RFID safe wallet, a safety travel belt (so I can most importantly keep my phone and passport on my person under my clothes at all times). I probably could have put the belt in my checked bag, but it didn’t take up much room.

I also brought my digital camera. And because my camera is a bit old (2011), I also brought the battery charger for this in case it ran out while I was there for 3 weeks.

Oh, and lip balm. Because you girl wants to make sure she doesn’t end up with 3rd degree burns on her lips this summer like last summer.

That’s a story for a different time.

Recommended/Brought Vs What I used, checked baggage:

What I packed	Did I use it?
9 pairs of underwear	Yes I used this. It helped not feel so gross.
6 pairs of running socks	Yes
6 pairs of hiking socks	Honestly, didn't need this many. Running socks would have been fine
2 Thicker pairs of socks	Didn't need. I was just being cautious
3 sports bras	Yup. Honestly, could've used more since I wore mostly these
1 nicer bra	Yes for when I wore nicer clothes
3 sets of scrubs	yup. I wore these everyday at clinic. Don't recommend more, just reuse them. If you don't wish to take them home, you can usually leave them at the clinic.
3 pairs of shorts (2 nice, one workout)	Honestly 1 pair would have been fine. I did use the workout shorts a lot
1 pair of jeans	I maybe wore these one night
1 light weight pair of pants	Yup. These were nice and breezy. Wore them a lot
1 pair of fishing pants/cargo pants for safari	yes.
5 t-shirts	yes. for both leisure wear and for running in
low cut hiking/trail shoes	I used these to run in, hike in, and at clinic (needed that ankle support)
2 leggings (I wore one on the plane)	Yes. For mostly running in and traveling
3 workout tanks	yes. for both running and leisure
sleepwear	yes. but it was basically a pair of cheer shorts and a tank so... I could use those outside of sleeping if needed
swimsuit	yes. but I only went swimming once. Some people swam more
3 dresses + 2 coverups	I had 3 sundresses. We had several occasions where we could be more dressed up/wear a dress
safari hat	must for me. I was on antibiotics
flip flops	I mainly wore them around the hotel. but I didn't wear them much outside of that
2 sweaters	I probably didn't need the second one as I had another one on my person while traveling.
"tennis shoes" (they weren't really running shoes tho)	Wore on the plane. Wore intermittently on my trip if I didn't want to wear hiking boots
long sleeve shirt	I wore this on the plane. I would wear it periodically if I got col
2 giant bottles of sunscreen	Was being cautious. I really only needed one. Gave an extra one to some Kenyans
4-5 large spray bottles of 40% DEET bug spray	Recommend bringing wipes and maybe a smaller bottle. If you don't spray/soak your clothes before leaving, then bring a bottle or two. But I didn't need this many and gave it away to a few Kenyans before leaving.

I know this is a long list. And honestly I spent way too long trying to figure out how to best compare/present this information to you. My apologies if it isn’t the best way to be represented.

I brought a lot of sunblock, giant safari hat, and baseball hat because ya girl was on doxycycline (which is a bitch when you are already very white and prone to sunburns in the first place) and I didn’t want to get too sunburnt. There was a running joke that I was khaleesi (I had super white hair on this trip) because I managed to NOT get sunburnt with the amount of precautions I took.

Yay me!

For the most part of the packing list we were given, I stuck to getting everything on it. I added additional underwear, socks, and a few additional clothing pieces just because I am an overpacked and was unsure of what I would need in Kenya…

For shoes, most people just used their running shoes in clinic, to run in/exercise in, and on their hikes. I preferred to use my low cut hiking trail shoes as the roads were not all flat and I wanted extra stability for my ankles. PLUS, if they got muddy while in clinic it was less annoyed by it.

I did however bring several flushable wipes (not on the list), a small first aid kit, face cream, body lotion, hairbrush, hairties, q-tips, a razor (just in case because I did bring a bikini), an extra travel toothbrush, a few pills of Advil, probiotics, and I brought 2 additional travel size containers of shampoo and conditioner. (I have a lot of hair, I mostly need a lot of conditioner since its semi curly and just doesn’t every listen to what I want it to do…)

Oh, and tampons. Because of course I started right before we left for Kenya. But hey, at least I won’t be expecting it unexpectedly while there right?

That is what I told myself anyways.

I then looked back at some old notes when we had our very first meeting together, and also packed a beanie, peanut butter, a little bit of laundry detergent, and melatonin ( I think I brought 20 pills?) per those requests. I didn’t use the beanie or laundry detergent (this was going to be hit or miss when we arrived), but I def used the peanut butter and melatonin.

Prior to leaving:

I stayed a long weekend at my besties place as she still lives in KC. Since we all had to leave from KC’s airport together for this trip and I now live in Joplin, I headed up early to spend some time with her and her husband. I also wanted to give my cat a few days to acclimate to being in their apartment, since they were kind enough to watch her for me while I was gone!

Because I didn’t want to deal with unpacking or repacking things for my checked bag OR my carry on, I actually brought a separate bag. It’s usually the one I bring when I go up to the city to spend time with her. This brought an additional 2-3 sets of clothes and some extra undies and socks. I also brought an extra bathing suit/towel since they have a pool. I also spent 2-3 days with them after returning. This gave me time to slowly acclimate back to central time and recuperate a bit from traveling before heading back home.

This served to make sure I had fresh clothes for both before and after my trip. I will also leave my computer in their apartment, just so I can use it while they are away at work. Plus, I want to be able to blog the memories while they are still fresh! (Side note: this did not happen. I’m finishing this post in January 2020…)

Kitty prep!

In case you are curious, I’ll just add what I brought with me for my cat lol. By all means, this is of no importance to ya’ll, just something fun!

A box of canned kitty food (turns out they make these now?). I brought the box that had 30 cans instead of the box with 48. She doesn’t need 30 cans of cat food, but it was just easier to carry the whole box. Especially since we will be there a few days before I leave and a few days after.
Her dry food bucket
2 dishes
Her food mat (she’s a messy gal)
Her litter box (I got her a new one. We don’t have a hose so it’s hard to clean out her current box. It’s also easier to bring a clean one there so it saves space on the travel north.)
2 things of litter
Litter catching mat & scoop (again, she’s messy)
Her bed
Her favorite play toy
Brush (because she sheds like a mofo and my bestie really likes a clean apartment).
AND her favorite kitty nip toy + kitty nip. I forgot this last year and I think she will feel better with it.
And then obviously her carrier because I need some way to transport my little monster.

And that’s it. It’s not everything for my cat, because she’s a spoiled brat and has way too many toys and bags and boxes at our house. But, it should be enough to not only cover the basics but make her feel more at home. I anticipate a chunk of the canned food to be gone and a chunk of the litter to be used before the trip back. Which means less bulky things to bring back!

Let me know if ya’ll found this helpful for your trips abroad! Cheers.

Kenya Series! Medical Mission Trips & How To Get Started

Jambo! (Hello in Swahili).

At KCU, we have a couple of options to partake in a medical mission trip. You can be a part of the global health track (which you have to apply for and be chosen to for), you can fill out the applications that are sent out, OR you can find one on your own.

I recommend researching any mission fairly in depth. Including the ones that are offered at KCU or at your school. You should know some basic things such as:

How much does it cost?
How long will I be traveling?
What sort of experience do I want out of this?
Are there scholarships available?
What guidance is available to me?
What to I need to obtain before traveling out of the country?

For this particularly mission, I had emailed the head professor in charge of the global health track. I was curious if KCU would take students outside of the track at the time, and wanted to know some more information on the Kenya trip. A few months later, an email was sent out to all students for applying. The summer Kenya Mission took 9 students this year (more students were taken this year than in previous years). It was a total of 18 days, but our total clinic days weren’t set in stone. We personally had a great mix of clinic and additional touristy things to do. Looking back, I wanted slightly more clinic time, but the weather and other factors this past year just didn’t allow for it.

Applying

You need to make sure you have researched all potential places before applying. I emailed a lot of companies/sites before deciding to actually apply. Please be mindful with travel companies, they may try to spin a few things or sell pretty hard because they want you to pay to go with them instead of to another country with another company.

You will also need a valid passport. Depending on the time of year, it could take several months to get a passport if you’ve never gotten one before. Renewing a passport takes less time, but still takes time. If you are thinking of doing a trip, I suggest you try to tackle this way ahead of time. You can’t leave the country without a valid passport. End of story. You also likely won’t get picked for a school trip if you don’t have one either.

The KCU trip, like I stated, was an email sent out to every student with the information for how much it would cost and the application. For all other applications through specific companies, they usually have their application on their website. Most will ask you why you are interested in going and if you have any previous experience. That way if you do have some medial experience they will be more open to allowing you to use your skills.

Obviously, KCU knows how much experience you have because they have access to your profile. For KCU, you need to be in good academic standing. If you need to repeat a course that summer or you have lower than a 2.5 GPA (required GPA for any clubs or leadership positions), then you likely won’t get it.

Other than that, I don’t think KCU had too many requirements. If you do the MBA program in medical school, you won’t be able to do the summer mission trip. At least the year that I went the schedules collided. I’m not sure if the bioethics one overlaps as well with this trip. But be cognizant that you can’t do everything. And some of your previous scholastic engagements may overlap when you are wanting to do a summer trip.

After acceptance:

Filling out the application was easy. Especially if your passport is ready. It is all the additional things you need to get done to go that take up time, effort, and obviously cost $$$. Most of the vaccinations you need will be done or had to have been updated in order to be enrolled at KCU. Some will not. Here are the things that were expected of us to complete, and we were given some additional information on:

vaccinations
visa
specific cost breakdown
packing list
some information about your travel/specifics of what you will be doing

Majority of your vaccines should be up to date as you needed them for medical school. Unfortunately for me I needed a bunch of boosters because I hit that sweet spot of still young but my original immunity was waning. Le sigh….

So I did have to get boosters plus the additional traveling vaccinations as Kenya is endemic to many diseases that are eradicated in the United States.

-make sure you are paying adequately for the amount of time you will be gone… and if there are any additional services/experiences included. Some places are extremely unreasonable with the amount of money asked…

Vaccinations

Typhoid Capsules (the oral vaccination lasts 5 years and is recommended over the injection which lasts 1-2 years).
Malaria prophylaxis (not really a vaccine, but you do need this).
Yellow Fever Vaccine
Meningitis
Polio (Kenya has an endemic. You must get this prior to going. If you are going to be there longer than 28 days, you need to have it boosted right before leaving).
Tdap
Hepatitis A & B

Fun fact: if you were born before 1995 the Hepatitis A vaccine was not created yet. So even though it is now part of the mandatory vaccination routine for children, I never got it. And that shit hurts.

Yellow Fever vaccine is EXTREMELY hard to get. It is very costly, and there are limited clinics which are now able to give this out. Apparently, there were 2 factories who made this vaccine; one in France and one in the US. Well the US one shut down and has not reopened (yet). Thus, France is the only supplier for the entire world of this vaccine. Hence the hefty price tag and difficulty obtaining it. There is one clinic in KC Overland Park that has it, but call ahead of time. St. Louis, Nebraska, etc tend to have month(s) long waiting periods. As soon as you know you are going on this trip, call ahead and book an appointment with one of these places. It will be less stressful for you if you have it on the books, and will be awful if you have to cancel your trip because you couldn’t get it.

Visa

In general, the company or school you are booking your trip through should walk you through how to fill out that country’s visa. But it never hurts to make sure you have guidance if you need it. I could easily visit Kenya’s government website and had to pay $50 for my visa to be processed.

Cost Breakdown

KCU’s total cost was $4300 for the trip. This included most things: flights, lodging, transportation, food, safari, and groceries. If you wanted extra money to spend or needed more groceries/water then the allotted allowance, you would need to bring more money.

KCU also recommended you bring about $300 extra in case you wanted trinkets or if we ran across any additional touristy things. We ended up going out a few times as well; sometimes we had to pay and other times our tab was covered for us. I did not end up spending all of this money. In fact, I barely spent any of this extra money I brought. But it was good to have on hand just in case I needed it in Kenya to do something extra or in case I needed it when I got back to the States.

The last thing you need to know is you may have to spend a bit more prior to your trip on things such as your vaccinations, visa, and extra stuff when packing.

Sure, you could probably figure out how to get to your country and back for much cheaper. But if you are traveling with your school, they have to ensure all of you are on the same flights and usually are seated near one another. Because of this, flights can be a bit more.

In general your flight should be the most expensive part. But look at flights, lodging, if food is paid for or provided (and if not, how much are you expected to find for yourself), transportation, and touristy attractions. You will also need to know if the company you are with can help you exchange your money or where you can go to do that. You will want to bring extra money in case: tourist attractions that may pop up, getting trinkets and gifts to take back, tipping, etc.

Make sure that when you are looking at these costs there is a good ratio for you. If you want to only be in clinic, pick a company that only goes to clinics. If you want more touristy events and less clinic, find a company that does that.

If you feel you are being gypped, do your research on other companies to see if it is a fair price.

During my school trip we were given about 1000 Kenyan Shillings a week each. My roommate and I pooled our expenses together since we were buying water and snacks together anyways. This money was part of what we had already paid for in our trip as well. And if we needed more, we had access to exchanging American dollars for Kenyan Shillings.

Emergency Contacts

This goes without saying, but make sure you have phone numbers or a way to get a hold of the company if an emergency happens. Send your visa to the nearest embassy and have copies of your passports/visas stowed away from your originals as a just in case. If you are going with your school, they likely will have already done this for you. Make sure your school/company has contact information for your emergency contacts in case something happens to you and they have to phone home. And as always, ask about if they carry medicine on them or have a reliable hospital to take you to if need be.

Global Health Trips

Here were a few places that students have gone or where I looked into:

IVHQ. They have have many locations and have volunteer needs for much more than just medical. I had two classmates go with this company this past summer and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Power of a Nickel. Another two of my classmates also went on this. I looked into this one, but the one place I wanted to go was a bit more expensive than I preferred and not as long as I would have liked. However, my classmates seemed to have had a blast.

DOCARE International. Here you can apply to a range of international trips. However with this, if it is through a specific school they may advertise it on the website but most spots will go with to their own student population. But it is a good place to look and see what is available and try!

Health Corps Haiti. It looks like trips last about 1 week and they take both pre-med/pre-dental and medical/dental students. They also seem to have multiple trips throughout the year. This was suggested by a upper classmate but I’m not sure how many students have previously gone with this one.

Rad-Aid. Does something with medical imaging. I’m not sure what is with this one, but it was suggested by an upper classmate.

Plan my Gap Year. This was the company I was going to go through if I didn’t get into KCU’s global health program. I found many reliable prior volunteer accounts. The only downside seemed to have been that if you didn’t know any skills they weren’t willing to teach you… makes sense. But overall there were many different places you could go at reasonable prices.

Your school! If your school has a global health tract OR has professors that are involved in global health trips, you can get in with them and tag along or apply.

Lastly…

I’m not sure how many times I have written this in this post, BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH. There were a few companies that I was completely sold on, but until I did a deep dive realized they were money scamming or were not great experiences per other travelers/students. Do your research. Reach out to other students or previous volunteers. Ask all those questions. And make sure you go with a place where you feel you will get the most out of your experience!

I hope this helps. Cheers!