6am Tuesday 11/6
Good Morning. Yesterday was the first official day of training, starting at Locor (Pronounced Locho) Amuru Clinic, a satellite clinic of the main Locor Hospital in Gulu Town. There are 3 clinic sites associated with Locor, with 2 trainees at each site. At this site, I am working with 2 Midwives, who are trying to get signed off, in order for us to leave a machine with them. The challenge for the trainees is that they have nothing to practice with (as far as a machine) when the trainers are not with them. They only have access to the machine if someone is here working with them, and then when they are signed off. Imagine the challenge of having to learn such a highly technical skill under such parameters. The dedication of these people is inspiring! We have had a great deal of rain lately, which poses a few challenges to our schedule. The most obvious is the ability to travel to the clinic on muddy, rough dirt roads, but there is also the challenge that when it rains, many of the incoming patients start planting and managing their crops. The rains will come through out the night, so people will wake and plant first thing in the morning, then head into the clinic. The Team introduced me to the clinic Director and I was able to ask some questions about the patient load and take a tour of the facilities. This remoted clinic takes in an average of 1500 a month, with 400-500 of them expectant mothers and a majority of the rest are children. It has already got my brain spinning about the potential of ultrasound pediatric training in the future. Jane and Tedy are the midwives at this location, and once they were able to get their patients checked in, we began scanning with them at around 11:30am. This brought up another challenge. We do not all learn at the same rate, nor do we learn the same way. Although they began training at the same time, one of the women was clearing and substantially ahead of the other. We took a tea break around 3pm, and the team had a meeting. The first thing they wanted to know was what I thought of the training so far (this was a test for me, I quickly found out). When I stated my concerns, they all looked at one another, nodded in agreement, and told me that this had been a problem all along. I can easily make a joke about the tests that I have been given on this trip (locked out of our building, being drenched in rain, no running water, etc...), and my team all have a wonderful sense of humor, so we have all been laughing about it. This test, however, was important. We all have a very short time to get to know one another, figure out how to mesh as a team, train together, and evaluate the current training program and make rapid changes as needed. My feedback gave them faith in my ability as a trainer, and in my ability to quickly assess a situation and come up with a plan, which is so important of these trips. We came up with a plan, Shallon and I spoke to the Midwife at the end of the clinic day, and we will see how it all works out today. I am only at this site for 2 1/2 working days, so we have to work fast, and accomplish a lot. Sometime in the night, we lost power, and I was so thankful for the travel fan I brought along. It works on electricity or batteries, and it was a still, muggy night, compared to the prior nights of thunderstorms and torrential downpours, followed by cool winds. We are also without running water, which comes and goes here. I had felt, before coming here, that my prior trips should have prepared me well for whatever comes up, and I was right. I still might have brought a lot of extra supplies, but quite a few of them have come in quite handy, and I have taken everything in stride, so far. I feel incredibly comfortable here, and I am just overjoyed with the people I am working with. Shallon has such a passion for ultrasound, that it rivals my own. Picho is a meticulous detail man, with a love for travel, and a wonderful sense of humor. Allan is an IT wizard, a lover of chaos,and is so passionate about helping his fellow Ugandans. He also has a wonderful sense of humor, and they all have such a natural grace and are so skilled at what they do. I feel honored to be surrounded by such incredible people. Renny joined us late last night, he is the Data Man, and has been responsible for getting all of the clinics on a common record keeping program. Not an easy job! It's a gorgeous morning, and the others are starting to stir, so I am off to prepare for another day. Thanks for listening!
oxox MB
Good Morning. Yesterday was the first official day of training, starting at Locor (Pronounced Locho) Amuru Clinic, a satellite clinic of the main Locor Hospital in Gulu Town. There are 3 clinic sites associated with Locor, with 2 trainees at each site. At this site, I am working with 2 Midwives, who are trying to get signed off, in order for us to leave a machine with them. The challenge for the trainees is that they have nothing to practice with (as far as a machine) when the trainers are not with them. They only have access to the machine if someone is here working with them, and then when they are signed off. Imagine the challenge of having to learn such a highly technical skill under such parameters. The dedication of these people is inspiring! We have had a great deal of rain lately, which poses a few challenges to our schedule. The most obvious is the ability to travel to the clinic on muddy, rough dirt roads, but there is also the challenge that when it rains, many of the incoming patients start planting and managing their crops. The rains will come through out the night, so people will wake and plant first thing in the morning, then head into the clinic. The Team introduced me to the clinic Director and I was able to ask some questions about the patient load and take a tour of the facilities. This remoted clinic takes in an average of 1500 a month, with 400-500 of them expectant mothers and a majority of the rest are children. It has already got my brain spinning about the potential of ultrasound pediatric training in the future. Jane and Tedy are the midwives at this location, and once they were able to get their patients checked in, we began scanning with them at around 11:30am. This brought up another challenge. We do not all learn at the same rate, nor do we learn the same way. Although they began training at the same time, one of the women was clearing and substantially ahead of the other. We took a tea break around 3pm, and the team had a meeting. The first thing they wanted to know was what I thought of the training so far (this was a test for me, I quickly found out). When I stated my concerns, they all looked at one another, nodded in agreement, and told me that this had been a problem all along. I can easily make a joke about the tests that I have been given on this trip (locked out of our building, being drenched in rain, no running water, etc...), and my team all have a wonderful sense of humor, so we have all been laughing about it. This test, however, was important. We all have a very short time to get to know one another, figure out how to mesh as a team, train together, and evaluate the current training program and make rapid changes as needed. My feedback gave them faith in my ability as a trainer, and in my ability to quickly assess a situation and come up with a plan, which is so important of these trips. We came up with a plan, Shallon and I spoke to the Midwife at the end of the clinic day, and we will see how it all works out today. I am only at this site for 2 1/2 working days, so we have to work fast, and accomplish a lot. Sometime in the night, we lost power, and I was so thankful for the travel fan I brought along. It works on electricity or batteries, and it was a still, muggy night, compared to the prior nights of thunderstorms and torrential downpours, followed by cool winds. We are also without running water, which comes and goes here. I had felt, before coming here, that my prior trips should have prepared me well for whatever comes up, and I was right. I still might have brought a lot of extra supplies, but quite a few of them have come in quite handy, and I have taken everything in stride, so far. I feel incredibly comfortable here, and I am just overjoyed with the people I am working with. Shallon has such a passion for ultrasound, that it rivals my own. Picho is a meticulous detail man, with a love for travel, and a wonderful sense of humor. Allan is an IT wizard, a lover of chaos,and is so passionate about helping his fellow Ugandans. He also has a wonderful sense of humor, and they all have such a natural grace and are so skilled at what they do. I feel honored to be surrounded by such incredible people. Renny joined us late last night, he is the Data Man, and has been responsible for getting all of the clinics on a common record keeping program. Not an easy job! It's a gorgeous morning, and the others are starting to stir, so I am off to prepare for another day. Thanks for listening!
oxox MB
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