Thanks to Dr. Emily Adams-Piper for many of the photographs
After the subspecialty rotations, the students have a recess term followed by a short break, then begin their fifth and final year of medical school. During this last year they repeat each of the four major disciplines, rotating for seven-and-a-half weeks each. The students are then mandated to complete an intern year before being fully granted the right to practice as a physician. Graduation has its own customs and timing, as on October 3rd, in the midst of their internship, the young physicians will leave their posts for a few days to head back to their medical school and attend the official graduation ceremony as well as to celebrate the day the school was founded.
"Being an advocate for women extends beyond the four walls of our clinic or hospital. We must educate ourselves about the various issues affecting women in our communities and our world — laws that threaten reproductive health rights, cultures of sexism, and inequalities that keep women across the globe in poverty — and fight against these problems."
On January 26th a guest lecturer arrived for a few weeks - Dr. Emily! When I was the Gynecology service chief resident at UCI, Emily was a fantastic urogynecology fellow to work with in the operating room and on the ward. As soon as she discovered Dennis and I were headed to Uganda for the year, we immediately began planning a way for her to visit. A huge thank you for the incredible support of my supervisor Professor Wandabwa as well as the Faculty Dean of BUFHS Professor Waako for making her visit happen!
Emily didn't miss a beat in getting settled into life in Mbale or the hectic hospital. There was no sign of jet lag as we spent the first few days introducing her to all of the hospital and university administration and staff, settling in to the gynecology outpatient clinic looking for patients in need of urogynecology surgery, rounding on the gynecology ward, seeing antepartum / "return OB" patients, or teaching the medical officers and interns in the operating theatre that the key to a successful prolapse surgery is "slow and safe." Perhaps the most memorable and crazy surgery we had was a utero-cutaneous fistula, where the hysterotomy from a cesarean section and the skin became infected, necrotic, and fused so that when we thought the underlying organ was bowel, it was actually endometrium. Yikes.
In addition to bringing a box full of pulse oximeters requested by the students, a few Heaney clamps, forty metal speculums, and four copies of Clinical Gynecologic Oncology, personally signed by Dr. DiSaia himself. The students of the university and staff at the hospital were incredibly thankful for all of these. Two copies of the book were a gift to my counterpart Dr. Stephen Waiswa and my supervisor Professor Julius Wandabwa; Professor was so excited he gave me a hug, lifting me off of the ground!When not running around the hospital we were up for early morning runs or yoga, shopping for beautifully patterned fabric, enjoying a delicious cup of coffee, or sitting on the stairwell with Dennis, Travis, Bob, and Julia discussing a whole host of books and recent events. With Emily's undergraduate degree in English literature, she was the perfect match for Bob and Julia's literary knowledge.
February 1st was an exciting day - the founding of the Women In The Medical World club! Busitema University is progressive, ensuring that at least 30% of the student body is made up of women. The students cover both medical and nursing disciplines. BUFHS student organizations are often affiliated with the nearby School Of Clinical Officers, where students are trained in a medical position similar to a physician assistant in the US. As an undergraduate at UCSD I was a part of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. I was privileged to meet incredibly ambitious and inspirational women in both my own undergraduate studies as well as alumni and other women successful in their careers, while also participating in outreaches through the sorority philanthropy: bringing awareness to and providing education about domestic violence. In medical school I was a member and mentorship chair of the American Medical Women's Association, pairing medical students with an attending physician as a mentor, holding journal clubs, donation drives for underserved women in the community, and attending national conferences. Each of these organizations had a tremendous impact on me during school, constantly providing inspiration and motivation to continue reaching for the heights.
If any reader is aware of scholarship opportunities for women in Uganda, or has access to setting up student exchange programs, please message me the info to promote our scholarship and student exchange chairs!I have the pleasure of being a patron, or advisor, to the club alongside the incredible Dr. Rebecca Nekaka, as one person wrote on the whiteboard at the end of the meeting: "Dr. Nekaka - our Michelle Obama." As an aside - lesson learned in organizing clubs and meetings: in November I sent out an email to all students a few weeks in advance with a reminder email a few days before and the day of ... no one showed. Calling one class leader at 2:00pm and asking them to organize a meeting for 5:00pm ... fifty women attended. Phone and WhatsApp are by far and away the preferred method of communication with the students.
February 3rd was Dennis's 34th birthday so we took a celebratory weekend trip to the Sipi River Lodge, a luxurious retreat an hour away from Mbale with green mountains, flowing waterfalls, cooler temperatures, and fabulous french press coffee. The evening was filled with good food, laughter, homemade brownies by Julia, and sitting in front of the roaring fireplace with Bob reading "August Heat" by W.F. Harvey, and Dr. Seuss's "Happy Birthday To You!" before heading into our cabin with the sounds of the nearby waterfall soothing us to sleep.
Saturday and Sunday morning we sat just outside of our cottage, drinking delicious tea and coffee while watching the sun slowly rise over the mountain. On Saturday, Travis, Emily, Dennis, and I set out to hike the three waterfalls in the Sipi area. In the midst of the dry season the water was not as thunderous, making it easier to explore the base of the falls without getting pelted by water from above. Unfortunately the infamous ladder to the lowest falls had recently burned down, meaning we could only admire the waterfall from afar before heading back to the lodge for a luxuriously hot shower and afternoon of reading and relaxing. That night we were again entertained by Bob's sing-song voice, reading "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". After enjoying more coffee and reading on Sunday morning, we headed back to Mbale.
The following week at the hospital had its frustrations, with the operating theatre not functioning well due to the lack of water, no blood in the blood bank for the many elective 20-week-size fibroid uteri booked for hysterectomy, and on top of it no anesthesia officer available to give anesthesia in the event everything else was functioning. Thursday February 9th, however, the fourth year students amazed us with their report-back on fibroids. The university focuses on a problem based learning approach, where in place of traditional lectures, the students create objectives for what they should know about for a given topic on a Monday, then over the course of the week read and prepare their findings. One student presides over the meeting and each student presents what they were assigned to investigate. After each presentation, if there are any questions, clarifications, or additions, the rest of the group can add on. It is amazing to see what each person will find in the course of reading and fun to see learning in process. That evening we were hosted to a fabulous Punjabi dinner at Jasraj's house, a Peace Corps Volunteer living in Mbale. There isn't running water or a sink in Jasraj's living quarters, but that didn't stop him and his co-volunteer Mïchäł from making a deliciously spiced meal.
Friday February 10th was another family dinner affair, this time with the infamous muchomo pork alongside saffron rice, paired with more stories from Bob reading aloud "To Build A Fire" by Jack London to a rapt audience being mentally cooled through the Mbale heat. Saturday February 11th we trekked the nearby Wanale Ridge, with Emily climbing up the wall of sticks like a pro. This was followed by an afternoon relaxing and reading poolside and a 'family' dinner at Mt. Elgon Hotel on the green outskirts of town. Sunday the 12th was also an early start, meeting Jasraj early to catch a matatu (local taxi bus) to attend service at the Sikh temple in Tororo. We had the best guide through the service, practices, and religious customs, followed by meeting several prominent Sikh community members over a communal meal with all comers welcomed. The rest of the weekend was spent grading midterm examinations and preparing for the upcoming week of lectures.
For some Valentine's Day fun we operated alongside Professor Wandabwa in the morning and then were off to a grand rounds presentation on pelvic organ prolapse. The topic is typically reserved for the fifth year of medical school, however Professor wanted to capitalize on Dr. Emily's presence and expertise. The students were engaged and asked thoughtful questions, expanding their knowledge of pelvic anatomy and support. In the evening we had a family celebration at our favorite Indian food restaurant in town, New Nurali's. To think that when Dennis and I first began dating in 2004 I was convinced that I didn't like Indian food... :)
Thursday the 16th we sadly bid farewell to Emily as she left for Entebbe and on to Tanzania to meet up with her family for some adventures.The Mbale crew was also gearing up to say goodbye to our own Dr. Travis, who was leaving after the end of the fourth year clinical rotations. In addition to preparing for finals, we sent him off with a flurry of family dinners, including a fantastic Polish feast on February 23rd created by Chef Mïchäł, complete with sparklers and shooting heart confetti which we found in our clothing and apartments for days.
I leave you with wonderful photos of the colorful sunrise, and the bubbly theatre nurse Lorna enjoying the theatre shoes left for her by Dr. Emily. Enjoy!
Up next: The Lovell Ladies in Uganda!
No comments:
Post a Comment