I plan to travel to The Gambia in West Africa to teach at an intensive two-week point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) bootcamp. This project builds on UC Davis’s longstanding partnership with Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul and focuses on sustainable medical education and capacity building. The program trains local clinicians from all specialties. Drawing on my advanced ultrasound training, I will prepare and present specialty-specific ultrasound lectures and facilitate hands-on instruction for ultrasound image acquisition and interpretation.
This point of care ultrasound global health sustainability education trains local Gambian physicians in the utilization of point of care ultrasound to improve accuracy for time sensitive conditions in a setting where access to advanced imaging is incredibly limited. After our training bootcamp, these local clinicians go back to serve their community with improved diagnostic capabilities.
Although I feel I have a lot to offer this community in terms of my ultrasound expertise, I know that this trip with be incredibly impactful for me as well. I look forward to learning from the Gambian medical community, strengthening cross-cultural clinical partnerships, and advancing global health equity. I also look forward to ways I can continue to impact this community after our trip in terms of continued ultrasound education via online platforms.
My trip to The Gambia was a profoundly impactful experience. Collaborating directly with local physicians provided a powerful reminder that sustainable healthcare transformation begins with the empowerment of the local physicians. Through our POCUS bootcamp, we were able to provide intensive 2 week POCUS training to 40 local physicians from all specialities and levels of training. The dedication and commitment of these clinicians was extraordinary, and contributing to their capacity to deliver higher-quality care was both professionally meaningful and deeply motivating. Thank you to Doximity Foundation for partnering with me in making this trip happen!
