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Our Global Health Experience

We had the privilege of attending to patients from the foothills of Mt. Kenya, an area whose primary economic driver is the cash crop Khat. The rotation comprised of mainly Internal Medicine wards from 7am- 5pm. On occasion we rounded on consults from General Surgery wards, OB-GYN and Pediatrics.

One interesting case that stood out for us was the patient M (she allowed me to use her photos). She had rheumatoid arthritis with extra articular/pulmonary manifestation and Cor pulmonare. Patient was diagnosed in 2017 and admitted to Maua Methodist hospital on and off since June of 2018. At the time of our rotation she had been readmitted for worsening shortness of breath and intractable joint pain. Patient had showed marked improvement after several weeks of treatment.

M was the mother of 2 young children (under 5) who were in her sister’s care after her husband left the relationship due strains attributed to her chronic illness. She had been detained at the same hospital for failure to pay her hospital bill. This was resolved with a politician’s fundraising help/intervention. During our brief still, her discharge was pending an oxygen concentrator that she couldn’t afford ($500 Amazon). However, the local politician facilitated its purchase from Israel. We paid her a home visit 1 week after discharge.  We were able to appreciate the simple home and plot on which she subsisted. M was very appreciative of our visit and agreed to the photos being taken and her diagnosis shared for learning purposes. Given the terminal nature of her diagnosis, barring a heart & lung transplant, unfortunately, she has a bleak prognosis.

Besides the ordinary medicine cases diabetes, CHF, HTN, stroke, sepsis, DVT we also encountered a lot of TB, HIV and meningitis (audiovisual hallucinations).

The HIV clinic was the highlight of my rotation. It’s a extremely well organized setup, comparable to US clinics. Due to adequate funding and free ARV's, patients are well taken care of (clinical officers= NP's and 2 MD's) and followed up (Social workers). I participated in HIV clinic morning conference as well as daily morning medicine wards report/conference.

I unreservedly recommend this rotation to anyone interested in learning about global underserved communities (developing countries). It’s a comprehensively insightful learning experience filled with practical and knowledge based opportunities.

I’m forever grateful to UTMB Family Medicine for this opportunity,
Alexander Ondari, MD
PGY-3



Department of Family Medicine
University of Texas Medical Branch
301 University Boulevard
Galveston, Texas 77555-1123

(409) 747-8593

family.residency@utmb.edu

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Juliet McKee, MD

Juliet McKee, MD
Vice Chair for Education
Director,
Residency Program

 
Creshonda Collins

Creshonda Collins
Coordinator,
Residency Program 

Kimberly Denton

Kimberly Denton
Manager,
Residency Program