This will be my fourth trip to Lilongwe, Malawi to teach anesthesia techniques to the clinical officers and trainees at Kamuzu Central Hospital. Recently Malawian anesthesia residents are now part of the training group in Lilongwe. These are the first MD anesthesiologists trained in the county. As part of a global anesthesia rotation at UNC, I will be supervising two anesthesia residents from the US who will be learning about anesthesia practice with scarce resources. Also I will be introducing and orienting a pediatric anesthesiologist from UNC to the program. This will be a great benefit for the pediatric patient population. The residents will provide lectures and simulation sessions with the trainees in Malawi. I also provide a regional anesthesia workshop, introducing ultrasound guided techniques to the clinical officers. This helps improve the safety and analgesic management of patients in Lilongwe. I offer hands on training as well as classroom lectures. I will continue teaching obstetric anesthesia and management of hemorrhage in this population.
The anesthesia officers and students in Malawi will benefit from the education and training we provide to enhance their existing curriculum. Also, the anesthesia residents that are coming with me will benefit from the experience with improved medical care in underserved areas and an increase in global need. Lastly the citizens of Malawi will be provided with improved care over the long term as we are committed to ongoing training to the local officers providing care.
Our impact is to improve anesthesia care and delivery in Lilongwe and throughout Malawi. Having the opportunity to train the first generation of physician anesthesiologists in Malawi is a privilege. Our goal is to teach anesthesia as well as teach how to educate and train future anesthesiologists. Our group also provides financial support to trainees throughout the education and training process.
A large part of our mission is education of the local officers and residents. They will be assigned to very isolated district hospitals throughout the country and we are hoping to improve care throughout Malawi, not just at the central hospital in Lilongwe.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel to Malawi and teach the training anesthesia clinical officers. I travel with two anesthesia residents for UNC global anesthesia elective. We give lectures daily, including simulation, and skills training with ultrasound and intubations. We also spend time in the operating theaters for clinical teaching. The students are always so inspiring and eager to learn. I al already looking forward to my next trip.
