Mario Rodríguez Monteverde will start the second year of the Degree in Pharmacy at the University of Navarra in September. During his summer he has wanted to continue to bet on his training as a pharmacist through volunteer activities. Thanks to an English NGO, in June he traveled to Ghana to work in the department of general medicine in a hospital. There he has been at contact with patients suffering from HIV, tuberculosis and other contagious diseases. For Rodriguez it has been"a great opportunity and a new experience that gives me information on how a healthcare team operates in third world conditions".

This experience has marked him for life. Here he gives us his testimony:

"In Ghana, as in much of Africa, resources are limited. The offices are rooms full of ventilation ducts and drains. There is a distinct lack of material and equipment such as blood bags and microscopes, in fact, there was only one at conference room parasitology for the entire hospital. In addition, power outages are continuous. The latter was not of much concern to the rest of the staff healthcare as, on one occasion when I was with several doctors, the power went out and they continued talking as if nothing had happened. However, these shortcomings also mean that staff is always active and very focused on its work.

Punctuality is as rare in Ghana as it is in Spain. Although the workshop started at 8 o'clock, nobody arrived at that time. One day we were given the option to be at a cesarean section, we were told that if we were not there at eight o'clock we could not see her..., we were waiting for the doctor until nine o'clock and average.

In general, all the doctors, nurses and pharmacists were, at all times, very close to those of us who were on internship. When we went to the main hospital laboratory they explained in detail everything that was there.

The health system is similar to that of Spain. There are public and private hospitals. In the public hospital, patients obtain their treatment and medication through the annual payment of a card that allows them to pay for a large part of the treatment. Upon arrival at the hospital's Pharmacy Service, the patient submission receives a card with the diagnosis and medications; the patient's name, his or her registration issue and the medications to be taken are written in a book. Then submission the card is given to a pharmacist who sees which medications the patient has paid for and which are available (even if the patient has a social security card, the government does not pay for all medications). Unlike in Spain, the pharmacist in Ghana does not have the role of prescriber that we have here.

Personally, I think it has been an incredible and unique experience. The tougher and more limited the conditions in which you perform your profession, the better you get to know it. Just like you don't know how to sail until you hit bad weather. You don't really appreciate the work of pharmacist until you understand its importance as a professional, away from technology and ease of access to all subject of resources. Also, being in a place with a different culture and people makes you grow as a professional and as a person."