Signing off on Suva
It's that moment when your heart sinks into your boots, and you hear the words: "Leave your form with me, and I'll ask around for feedback."
Now, it's not like we haven't been going in or anything- Mazza and I have both been in most days for the last four weeks. It's just that the interns I was with for most of that time are no longer in the department, and I can count my interactions with the registrars on the fingers of one hand, so this was not the response I was hoping for when presenting my form for a signature to confirm I'd been attending for the last four weeks here in Fiji.
Sign-offs are my own personal nightmare- I loathe them in a way no-one else seems to, and have spent many a sleepless night trying to plan exactly how I'm going to cram in all the signatures required for a placement. So when it comes to elective, despite being fully aware that there will be some students who got signed off on their first day and never set foot in the hospital after, any delay on getting that important signature stresses me out.
So while I freak myself out unecessarily about the status of my form, I figured I'd spend a little time sumarising Suva and Fiji, and my main tips from this trip.
What's Suva like?
I saw one particularly savage post on trip advisor, slamming Suva as a 'dirty, third world city', which many people agreed with, but I'm not convinced. Sure, there's some truth to the comment: while the streets are incredibly clear of rubbish, a lot of the buildings are generally grubby, and it is a big city in the Fiji sense (so a very small city in UK terms!), but it's also a really nice place to live. It's busy and sweaty and not the picture-postcard Fiji you might imagine, but it's also been home for the past month, and I've loved it. People are super friendly, food and toiletries and clothes are easy to buy, and even on a Sunday, there's still plenty going on. I've felt incredibly safe in Suva the entire time, and have been amazed by how welcoming and accepting everyone is.
Getting around Suva
One thing I hadn't clocked from google maps was just how hilly Suva is- we'd had ideas of staying a twenty minute walk from the hospital and I am SO glad we didn't do that! Even the walk up the hill from our apartment each morning is enough work for me some days.
We've found the best way to get around by far is with taxis- it costs about $5 to get anywhere within the city, so we've tended to walk down the hill into town (20 mins or so) then get a taxi back, especially when we have shopping. Split between three of us, that's about 50p each for a trip. The taxis are easy to find too- there are ranks throughout the town, and one right outside the hospital. They all put on their meters as standard, so you don't need to worry about getting ripped off either!
Accomodation
We ended up staying in Island Apartments, just down the road from the hospital. They have a few buildings on the street, and I honestly can't reccomend them enough. Our apartment is lovely, there's good cooking facilities, decent Wi-Fi, the staff are all super friendly and the security overnight is tight. We get our laundry provided every day, and breakfast each morning from 7-9am is a brilliant spread. It's not surprising that a lot of the people staying here are visiting doctors and medical students! I think the biggest unexpected advantage of living close to the hospital though, is being able to pop home for lunch, and to use the loo- I had realised just how grim the facilities in the hospital would be!
What is there to do?
Suva isn't exactly equipped for tourists, so during the week, there aren't tonnes of things to do and see, but given you'll be in hospital at least till lunchtime most days anyway, that's not the worst thing in the world. That being said, there's definitely still things to keep you occupied. There's plenty of different places for food and drink around town, ranging from fancy restaurants to street food, and food courts to bakeries. If you don't want to cook, that's definitely not going to be a problem! Then there's the multiple cinemas, the market and handicraft market, the regular rugby games, Colo-i-Suva park, the nearby Mt Korobaba (the highest point in Fiji!), the national museum, art gallery and shopping malls.
Most of our 'experiences' though, came over the weekend. Suva isn't super convenient for a lot of touristy places (except for Leleuvia island!) but it's very cheap and easy to get out to a range of places, particularly Pacific Harbour. Even the coach to Nadi doesn't feel that long or painful!
Four weeks has been just the perfect amount of time for us here to feel like we've done a bit of everything and kept ourselves busy, but I'm not sure you'd be able to stay occupied for much longer- I definitely wouldn't suggest doing a full eight weeks (in Suva specifically, or Fiji as a whole!)
Would I reccomend an elective in Fiji?
Definitely...with some caveats.
Firstly, don't come here if you want one of those legendary, getting stuck in, doing surgery solo in the middle of Africa-type electives. You will still be a medical student here, with a lot of the same annoying hassles you get in the UK (hunting down doctors, loitering, watching people do paperwork...).
Secondly, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a solo trip- we haven't really met any other medical students at all, and there are almost no tourists in Suva, so I think meeting people could be pretty tricky.
Thirdly, I wouldn't necessarily vouch for an elective outside of Suva (or Lautoka- the interns say it's a very similar place): the villages are very small and remote, and if you look at my recent post about Nadi (the main tourist area), you'll see my feelings about it.
The great thing aboug Fiji has been the ability to mix time experiencing a genuinely different culture and medical system with some sheltered touristy-beaches when we want to. It's always been warm, if a little grey some days, and almost everything we've done has run smoothly. I've had a fantastic time, and I'm definitely going to miss it.
Now, it's not like we haven't been going in or anything- Mazza and I have both been in most days for the last four weeks. It's just that the interns I was with for most of that time are no longer in the department, and I can count my interactions with the registrars on the fingers of one hand, so this was not the response I was hoping for when presenting my form for a signature to confirm I'd been attending for the last four weeks here in Fiji.
Sign-offs are my own personal nightmare- I loathe them in a way no-one else seems to, and have spent many a sleepless night trying to plan exactly how I'm going to cram in all the signatures required for a placement. So when it comes to elective, despite being fully aware that there will be some students who got signed off on their first day and never set foot in the hospital after, any delay on getting that important signature stresses me out.
So while I freak myself out unecessarily about the status of my form, I figured I'd spend a little time sumarising Suva and Fiji, and my main tips from this trip.
What's Suva like?
I saw one particularly savage post on trip advisor, slamming Suva as a 'dirty, third world city', which many people agreed with, but I'm not convinced. Sure, there's some truth to the comment: while the streets are incredibly clear of rubbish, a lot of the buildings are generally grubby, and it is a big city in the Fiji sense (so a very small city in UK terms!), but it's also a really nice place to live. It's busy and sweaty and not the picture-postcard Fiji you might imagine, but it's also been home for the past month, and I've loved it. People are super friendly, food and toiletries and clothes are easy to buy, and even on a Sunday, there's still plenty going on. I've felt incredibly safe in Suva the entire time, and have been amazed by how welcoming and accepting everyone is.
 | ||
| Some candid photos of the less photogenic parts of Suva |
 |
| A busy street in the centre of town |
 |
| One of the many buses around town |
One thing I hadn't clocked from google maps was just how hilly Suva is- we'd had ideas of staying a twenty minute walk from the hospital and I am SO glad we didn't do that! Even the walk up the hill from our apartment each morning is enough work for me some days.
 |
| The first stretch of the hill outside home |
We've found the best way to get around by far is with taxis- it costs about $5 to get anywhere within the city, so we've tended to walk down the hill into town (20 mins or so) then get a taxi back, especially when we have shopping. Split between three of us, that's about 50p each for a trip. The taxis are easy to find too- there are ranks throughout the town, and one right outside the hospital. They all put on their meters as standard, so you don't need to worry about getting ripped off either!
Accomodation
We ended up staying in Island Apartments, just down the road from the hospital. They have a few buildings on the street, and I honestly can't reccomend them enough. Our apartment is lovely, there's good cooking facilities, decent Wi-Fi, the staff are all super friendly and the security overnight is tight. We get our laundry provided every day, and breakfast each morning from 7-9am is a brilliant spread. It's not surprising that a lot of the people staying here are visiting doctors and medical students! I think the biggest unexpected advantage of living close to the hospital though, is being able to pop home for lunch, and to use the loo- I had realised just how grim the facilities in the hospital would be!
What is there to do?
Suva isn't exactly equipped for tourists, so during the week, there aren't tonnes of things to do and see, but given you'll be in hospital at least till lunchtime most days anyway, that's not the worst thing in the world. That being said, there's definitely still things to keep you occupied. There's plenty of different places for food and drink around town, ranging from fancy restaurants to street food, and food courts to bakeries. If you don't want to cook, that's definitely not going to be a problem! Then there's the multiple cinemas, the market and handicraft market, the regular rugby games, Colo-i-Suva park, the nearby Mt Korobaba (the highest point in Fiji!), the national museum, art gallery and shopping malls.
Most of our 'experiences' though, came over the weekend. Suva isn't super convenient for a lot of touristy places (except for Leleuvia island!) but it's very cheap and easy to get out to a range of places, particularly Pacific Harbour. Even the coach to Nadi doesn't feel that long or painful!
 |
| Pretending to be beach babes |
Four weeks has been just the perfect amount of time for us here to feel like we've done a bit of everything and kept ourselves busy, but I'm not sure you'd be able to stay occupied for much longer- I definitely wouldn't suggest doing a full eight weeks (in Suva specifically, or Fiji as a whole!)
Would I reccomend an elective in Fiji?
Definitely...with some caveats.
Firstly, don't come here if you want one of those legendary, getting stuck in, doing surgery solo in the middle of Africa-type electives. You will still be a medical student here, with a lot of the same annoying hassles you get in the UK (hunting down doctors, loitering, watching people do paperwork...).
Secondly, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a solo trip- we haven't really met any other medical students at all, and there are almost no tourists in Suva, so I think meeting people could be pretty tricky.
Thirdly, I wouldn't necessarily vouch for an elective outside of Suva (or Lautoka- the interns say it's a very similar place): the villages are very small and remote, and if you look at my recent post about Nadi (the main tourist area), you'll see my feelings about it.
 |
| Outside the paeds department |
The great thing aboug Fiji has been the ability to mix time experiencing a genuinely different culture and medical system with some sheltered touristy-beaches when we want to. It's always been warm, if a little grey some days, and almost everything we've done has run smoothly. I've had a fantastic time, and I'm definitely going to miss it.
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