AISHA began their morning with a fulfilling breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, pepay, bread, and malaria medicine. Consuming a healthy breakfast like any other day, AISHA ventured to the office, ready to resume another week of work.

Upon reaching the office, a brief discussion was held on the tasks of the day and everyone immediately proceeded to their duties. Vrushti and Simone dedicated themselves to improving the code and Alexa’s performance, while the others concentrated on reviewing the database for SRH and ensuring its content was applicable to Sierra Leone. A day like any other.

After our thorough review of the SRH database, Juliana proceeded to prepare for the upcoming appointment at 12:30, the meeting with Sister Bangura of the Ernest Bai Koroma (EBK) University which specializes in the training of nurses. Juliana took the lead in asking questions, Natalie was the notetaker, Maaz and Simone were the usability specialists, and Gaby and Vrushti set up the Alexa to prepare it for the demo. Yes, that’s right, AISHA had its first formal demo today, and yes, in my humble opinion, it went quite well.

AISHA reached the clinic at approximately 12:15. After asking nearby workers for Sister Bangura, head of the nursing department at EBK, we managed to find her office and met with the kind director, obtaining important insights into the methodology of training nurses. These insights encompassed information about the curriculum, exams, internships, certifications, and study practices.

We discovered that the university undergoes a curriculum update every five years, accounting for up-to-date medical information and that exams are to be provided by the nurse’s council. Moreover, the final exam is supposed to have 200 MCQs and past papers are essential to students for its preparation. Apart from providing past papers, the university practices learning in a collaborative setting which, according to Sister Bangura, promotes the sharing of ideas between students and increases collective learning. After graduation at EBK, students gain the opportunity to intern under a head nurse, and the only way to earn a medical license is if they complete the internship for a year. However, even after gaining the license, there are numerous workshops and seminars arranged by the Ministry of Health that medical workers have to attend to undergo continuous professional development as there is a requirement to renew medical licenses every three years.

After discussing the intricacies of EBK, we proceeded to provide Sister Bangura with a demo of our product. To her amazement, and much to ours, AISHA Answers worked like a charm. There were no faults to be noted and our audience was left mesmerized. The encounter with Sister Bangura was undoubtedly vital for AISHA as it provided us with a deep understanding of the methodology in which nurses obtain their medical information. Now, it is up to our team to erase any shortcomings left within their education. Following the meeting, Maaz (me) had to be dropped off at the hotel due to sickness. Apparently, the breakfast was not as healthy as it seemed (dont eat pepay, kids). The rest of the AISHA team proceeded to the office to resume their duties and discuss the multitudes of information obtained.

AISHA team with Sister Bangura and Usman.

Highlights:
Maaz: Pepay 🙂
Vrushti: Testing the Alexa and it is working
Natalie: Talking to sister Bangura
Juliana: Seeing the excitement from sister Bangura about our devices
Gabriela: Cheeseball
Simone: exploring EBK

Rating: ⅗