With eagerness and a dose of trepidation you step into a new clinical setting. On your far left a Somali woman is delivering twins with the aid of two students and a supervisor. On your right a young Asian man gasps for breathe as a resident physician and a faculty examine him. In the […]
“Why do I need training? Why can’t I just go?” “Because,”says Kristell Willmer, “you probably underestimate how little you understand this field.” Kristell is a certified family and pediatric nurse practitioner, and recipient of the DIM&PH – the INMED Diploma in International Medicine and Public Health. “Many healthcare professionals are also intimidated by global
Philippines’ Typhoon Haiyan tragedy is epitomized by the havoc suffered at INMED’s Filipino training site: Mercy Midwives Birthing Center. Here a landslide took out the clinic, six feet of water flooded the facility, epidemic leptospirosis – a neglected tropical disease – afflicts the survivors, all the while women continue to arrive in labor; the
Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. This Kenyan proverb embraces the discovery that the combined strengths of like-hearted people can realize superb results. In this light, those of us passionate about health improvement among the world’s most poor can indeed realize progress, but only as we cooperate together. Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable
Tuesday morning the US federal government shutdown. National parks are closed, IRS audits are suspended, and government-backed mortgages face delays. But our highways are open, home sales continue brisk, and many are not directly hindered. The Syrian government is also shutdown. But their roads are closed, banks are shuttered, schools suspended, courts adjourned, media
Demise of the Internet is already on our horizon. Like the information technologies before it – think of AOL and 3.5 inch disks – what is today’s mainstream will one day be a distant dream. Next up is The Grid. Built with dedicated fiber optic cables delivering speeds 10,000 times faster than broadband, real-time
Seventy patients were waiting for care today as I departed the Lubango Evangelical Medical Center to fly back to INMED headquarters in the United States. These people suffer most commonly from malaria, TB, pneumonia, HIV, typhoid fever, schistosomiasis, uncontrolled diabetes, and a litany of orthopedic trauma. Who will come to their assist? This healthcare
Yesterday in clinic I was approached by this lady, who described a painless mass growing on the left side of her face for 8 months. She’d never consulted a doctor about this. Her general health history was unremarkable. No fevers, weight loss, or unusual sensation of her head or neck. On exam, the mass
This young lady, who gave me permission to photo her, felt desperate to bear a child. In Angolan cultural – as in much of the world – having children is not only a means to security in older ago, but also a measure of one’s femininity or masculinity. In her anguish to become pregnant
What components are necessary to promote health in a low-resource setting? Money, drugs, vaccines, facilities often come to mind. But in my experience the most vital but elusive of them all is passionate and prepared personnel – the people who bring actual life to lofty intentions. Here let me introduce Sam Fabiano. He’s an