Competencies Applied During the Work Immersion at the Rural Health Unit

(RHU)
My time spent serving as an assistant member of staff at a rural health unit afforded me
numerous opportunities that helped improve my abilities across different departments.
These included outpatient department; dental department; pharmacy department;
laboratory; and IEC department.
Working within the outpatient department during this immersion program allowed me to gain
a better understanding of how best to assess patients' medical needs accurately while taking vital
signs measurements carefully before administering medication or treatment plans.
Additionally educating patients about their medical conditions will be crucial going
forward particularly when working with underserved communities where access to professional
medical advice is limited.
As an assistant member under senior dental practitioners within a remote area such as this
provided insights into a variety of oral health assessment techniques employed during various
dental procedures.
Attention was given towards maintaining high hygiene standards by emphasizing
sterilization and infection control protocols designed for use across remote regions.
At the laboratory unit itself during my time serving there taught me about specimen collection
methods along with expert knowledge on effective quality control measures used when
conducting laboratory testing processes safely. This enhanced proficiency extends beyond
theoretical knowledge as practical training was provided together with valuable insights into data
collection and analysis techniques critical for developing personalized treatments beneficial for
individual patients' needs.
Finally, within the IEC department of this center itself; the immersion program allowed me to
develop health education materials suited to various local populations, which was beneficial in
enhancing communication skills and effective data collection and analysis techniques critical for
providing patient centric care services within rural areas.
Overall, this experience has provided me with valuable competencies that would be essential
when working towards improving healthcare services offered in underserved rural communities
around the world.