In April 2023, I had the honor of being the second resident from my neurology residency program to travel to Kenya via the AMPATH program. Moi University Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya is seeking to improve access to neurologic care in western Kenya. They hope to achieve this by building a neurology residency program, and by improving the neuroscience curriculum for their current medical students and internal medicine residents. There is currently only one neurology residency program in Kenya (Nairobi, Agha Khan University Hospital) and only ~13 neurologists practicing within the country, none of whom practice in Eldoret. However, the burden of neurologic disease within western Kenya is very high, and improving access to neurologic care has been identified as a high priority by the local community and national health ministry.
The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School's (UT DMS) Neurology department has established a partnership with AMPATH Kenya and Moi University Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), The AMPATH model is one of partnership and reciprocity of knowledge and skills. As a part of this partnership, I plan to return to Eldoret to share my knowledge in neurology with clinical teams at MTRH – with a particular focus in management of neurovascular disorders and emergency neurology. In addition to hosting teaching lectures and rounding with the clinical teams, I plan to host training workshops for medical students, residents and nurses at MTRH on the use of the modified NIH Stroke Scale in rapid assessment of patients presenting to the hospital with a suspected stroke.
I hope to gain further insights into how the Kenyan healthcare system operates and MTRH's ability to provide comprehensive care to a very large population with limited resources. I also strive to gain a better understanding of how MTRH is working to build capacity for a sustainable health system, and I hope to assist in their efforts.
AMPATH Kenya has served 8,000,000 Kenyans and trained 2600+ health professionals and community healthcare workers. Our efforts will serve patients at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya. The medical students, residents and nursing teams at MTRH will benefit from my knowledge in neurology and from the skills acquired from our lectures and training workshops. The patients that I directly care for at MTRH will also benefit from my clinical experience in neurology.
Our project will have a direct impact on Kenyan learners and patients. There will be a broader impact on accessibility to neurology in the Eldoret and western Kenya as we continue assisting in the efforts to build a neurology residency program at MTRH. It is my hope that our presence at MTRH and our teaching efforts will also attract more Kenyan trainees to pursue careers as neurologists. I hope to contribute to efforts in global neurology to develop better models of accessible, culturally appropriate care. This project will also allow me to learn from my Kenyan colleagues about how to transform healthcare in a low resource setting.
Our month in Kenya was such an impactful and enriching experience. We provided neurology teaching to the medical students and registrars at Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). We also provided care to patients at MTRH who were referred in from several neighboring counties and countries including Uganda and South Sudan.
The medical students and registrars noted increased knowledge base and confidence in neurology as a result of our lectures, bedside skills sessions and teaching during rounds. Several trainees have expressed intention to apply for neurology fellowship training as a result of the teaching and mentorship that we were able to provide during our time in Eldoret.
In collaboration with our Kenyan counterparts, we were also able to make significant progress in our Swahili stroke scale project. We identified several partner institutions across Kenya and Tanzania to collaborate with on this project and are looking forward to the long term impact of this adapted stroke assessment tool.
