A MEDICAL student from Nailsea is flying out to Zambia next month to help patients and to see how healthcare is provided in a developing country. Susie Cooper, who attended Nailsea School, has already spent time on hospital wards and in GP practices in En

A MEDICAL student from Nailsea is flying out to Zambia next month to help patients and to see how healthcare is provided in a developing country.Susie Cooper, who attended Nailsea School, has already spent time on hospital wards and in GP practices in England.But this summer, the 22-year-old has chosen to spend her elective in a completely different environment, on another continent.Susie, who hopes to become a family doctor or to specialise in childhood medicine, will spend three weeks working in the department of child health and paediatrics at the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences.The Leicester Medical School student will then work on the wards of Nachingwea District Hospital.Susie, who will take her final exams this time next year, said: "I hope that I will be able to help patients as well as learn about the differences in healthcare standards in a developing country compared to those in Britain."It will be a really good opportunity to develop my practical skills by doing things like taking blood samples, and see how doctors do their job without all the high-tech equipment we're used to."I expect to see a lot of medical problems we don't see because babies are not vaccinated and people do not go to see a doctor so soon as they would in England, and to learn a lot." Susie did the Bristol Half Marathon last year to help fund her elective and she has applied for bursaries and grants.If anyone knows of any organisations to which Susie may apply for funding, she would be delighted to hear from them. Her e-mail address is scc17@leicester. ac.ukWhile Susie is in Africa, she will take some time out from her studies to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, visit the island of Zanzibar, travel to Kenya and go on safari.