Volunteer Reflection: Marie-Anne Dods - The Experience of a Canadian RPN Student. Uganda I, 2026
As a final year Registered Practical Nursing student based in Toronto, Canada, I had been thinking for several months about participating in a medical mission trip abroad. Primarily because I wanted to gain extra hands-on experience that all the legislation in the West does not allow nursing students to get until you are on a contracted job post-graduation, and I wanted to travel, not vacation. While there is no shortage of scams, “voluntourism” and religiously affiliated groups that go to developing countries to assist with their healthcare system, I was looking for something very specific. My conditions were to find a legit organization that would allow me to work on my skills that are within my scope of practice as a student, follows-up with patients after the care is provided, learn from qualified and experienced professionals, actually provid help to people in need, and hopefully come out on the other side with more knowledge on skills and what type of nursing I would like to do. Mission to Heal checked all those boxes when I found it through online browsing.
From the very beginning, everything was organized very well, and I knew I could trust it. I sent an email to apply for the April 10-18 Uganda Mission, and very shortly after, I got on an info call. As a 23-year-old Canadian who had never been to Africa, I found the entire planning of the trip (flights, what to bring, introduction Zoom call, and what to do once landed) to be very easy to navigate, thanks to Samuel Jangala.
I found myself spoiled between the planned day excursion at Lake Bunyonyi before our work week at the Hospital, and all the accommodations of the house, food and transportation provided.
Our role at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital was primarily to work on complex cases on the ward and provide education for the residents and nursing students. Our week was spent at the Hospital on the surgical ward, in the operating theatre, making notes and suggestions on how to improve certain aspects in the operating theatre for the medical residents. Another team member and I also got the opportunity to provide community palliative care with Kabale Christian Care in very remote areas of Kabale. As a nursing student, this week was beyond amazing and a transformative learning experience. I got to have a very raw look at what it is to screen patients with very complex cases to be possible surgical candidates, be in the operating theatre and exercise the skills in my scope of practice both in the theater but mostly in Pre-op and Post-op care, have an experience of what it is to do OR and Palliative nursing, and spend all day talking to, observing and learning from extremely knowledgeable medical professionals. I came out of that week with the knowledge that OR nursing and possibly travel nursing are what I would like to pursue. I truly could not have asked for a better first medical mission trip abroad for a nursing student.