First Class of Residents Graduate!
Last Friday, AHD made history.
The very first class of four postgraduate Family Physician residents from Salud y Desarrollo Andino (Saludesa), or Andean Health and Development in Spanish, graduated from the three-year program in Pedro Vicente Maldonado.
Dr. Lida Ordonez, Dr. Isabel Pacheco, Dr. Sara Romero, and Dr. Carlos Troya were the first to join the Saludesa Residency Program. They now will go on to be rural health care leaders in Pedro Vicente Maldonado and other parts of Ecuador.
Their three-year training involved classroom work in Quito and PVM, rotations in the hospital, and serving all kinds of cases: vehicle accidents, snake bite wounds, farming accidents, and even depression.
These residents are now equipped to handle the wide range of medical needs in the community. The rest of Ecuador is already taking notice. The Social Security Institute is looking to Saludesa to help train some of its doctors as well.
Congrats Grads! You are tomorrow’s leaders in global health.
Posted by admin in AHD's Initiatives•Global Health Topics•Stories
NOTES FROM ECUADOR – Dr. David Gaus
“Did she say why she took the poison?” I asked the resident doctor for details when he told me we had another patient with organophosphate toxicity. This comes from ingesting a chemical used as an herbicide on hearts of palm. “No Doc, but don’t forget we’re still in the season.”
The season to which he was referring was Valentine’s Day. We seem to see at least a few cases every year of love gone awry. Despondent folks attempt suicide by ingesting this substance. It is an extremely painful way to die.
Fortunately for the patient, the antidote is an old medicine called Atropine – generally available, but there has to be enough around. In the US we are accustomed to giving 1 to 2 amps to a patient for other conditions such as heart block, but these patients require up to 150 amps, which can be a lot more than a hospital might even have on hand. We managed to save this woman with 120 amps and other medications.
As Family Physicians, we addressed the causes of her distress after she recovered from her life-threatening intoxication. We even have a sociologist and clinical psychologist on hand to help us with patients facing these difficult situations. The difference between rural Ecuador and the US is that there are generally no services or institutions in rural Ecuador to care for people with conditions such as suicidality. The Family Doctors have to do the best they can.
This story does not have a happy ending. Although the patient
survived and was ultimately sent home after some therapy, we never knew how effective our treatment was. Yes, the Atropine saved her life, but what about her mood?
Depression is hardly recognized as a disease in rural areas in a country like Ecuador. It certainly exists, but food on the table and a roof over one’s head seem to be greater priorities for most.
How to diagnose and treat depression remains yet another challenge for teams of doctors like ours. Sadly, we’ll continue to see patients like this for many years to come.
- David Gaus
Posted by laura in Global Health Topics
Dr. David Gaus Speaking at Univ. of Wisconsin March 29
All are welcome. Please bring friends interested in global health or Latin America.
Posted by admin in AHD's Initiatives•Global Health Topics
Thanks Rotary for Sponsoring an AHD Physician Resident
The Elmbrook Rotary Club is sponsoring Dr. Amanda Tene Rueda’s third and final year in her Family Practice Residency through Andean Health and Development. Dr. Amanda started her residency in August of 2008 at Hospital Pedro Vicente Maldonado (PVM) and will graduate in July of 2011. This year she is teaching the group of 6 first-year residents that entered the program in August. Physician residents learn Family Medicine specifically to Ecuador’s countryside through a combination of classroom learning and clinical rotations. They learn the best practices of medicine and hospital administration and utilize the hospital’s electronic medical records. Visit our Residency Program page to learn more about this training program for Ecuador’s medical and nursing students.
The Rotary Club is helping AHD empower local medical professionals to be the next generation of rural health care leaders.
Thank you to Elmbrook Rotary for sponsoring Dr. Amanda through the Elmbrook Rotary Medical Fellowship!
Posted by admin in AHD's Initiatives•Global Health Topics
Update from the Founding Director, Dr. David Gaus
"They talk like you. They describe diseases like you. They even crack dumb jokes like you."
We train our local physician residents to teach new classes of residents so they become the future leaders in the health field. We encourage them to develop their own style; we provide them with teaching tips and the didactic tools they need to become effective teachers to adult learners.
Diego, the Director of the Residency Program, and I have been curious about the results of our efforts as we give our residents more and more responsibility. When our new crop of first year residents joined our ranks in July, we wondered how our "seasoned" residents would rise to the occasion. The comment above quotes Diego when I asked him how the teaching was coming along one day. We think this might be good news, but then again, those who know me realize that my jokes are indeed rather pathetic. I hope the residents can improve on that (Diego hopes more).
-David Gaus
David Gaus, M.D., MPH & TM is the founding director of Andean Health and Development.
Posted by admin in Global Health Topics•Stories