September
AMPATH Consortium Education
Submitted by: Debra Litzelman, MD, Jenny Baenziger, MD and Victoria Eder
GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION
Kenya Rotations
- Five IUSM residents (one plastic surgery, three pediatrics and one internal medicine), one UVA emergency medicine resident, and four University of Texas residents (three internal medicine and one neurology) are currently in Eldoret completing rotations at MTRH.
- An informational session for the 2023-2024 academic year was held on March 9 for interested IUSM residents, and the schedule of residents completing the rotation during the next academic year will be finalized in April.
- If your institution plans to send trainees to Kenya during this or the next academic year, please contact Victoria Eder (vneder@iu.edu) to confirm ward and IU House availability.
Moi Registrar Rotations in NA/EU
- Five medicine registrars and one pediatric registrar are currently scheduled to complete rotations at IU (August/September), Brown University (May/June), and Duke University (August/September) this calendar year. Rotation focuses include nephrology, pulmonology, and critical care/ICU.
- With the AMPATH commitment to reciprocity, if your institution plans to send trainees to Kenya during this or the next academic year, please contact Victoria Eder (vneder@iu.edu) with your institution’s number of available rotation spots for Moi Registrars and/or your plan for when you expect to be able to host registrars.
Global Health Residency Track
- The next quarterly conference for the Global Health Residency Track is scheduled for May 11, 2023.
STUDENTS
AMPATH Consortium
- Seven IUSM, 11 Linköping, seven Purdue Pharmacy, and four University of Texas students are currently in Eldoret completing rotations at MTRH.
- Twenty-four IUSM students have registered for the Medicine in Kenya elective for the 2023-2024 academic year. An orientation for these students will be held on April 6.
- If your institution plans to send trainees to Kenya during the next academic year, please contact Victoria Eder (vneder@iu.edu) to confirm ward and IU House availability.
Moi Medical Student Rotations in NA/EU
- Fourteen fifth-year Moi medical students have been selected to complete a six-week elective rotation at North American AMPATH Consortium institutions (IU, Duke University, Brown University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and University of Texas) from August 14 – September 24, 2023. Four medical, two nursing, two physio and two biomedicine students have been selected to complete rotations at Linköping University in the fall. The students are currently working on obtaining passports and required vaccinations.
Slemenda Scholars
- Four first-year IUSM students have been selected as this year’s Slemenda Scholars: Noor Abdullah, Geneva Baumberger, Kaitlyn Roberts, and Lauren Roop. The program sends two to four rising second-year IUSM students to Eldoret to experience AMPATH by participating in rounds, collaborating on field projects and working alongside Moi University medical students. Upon returning from Kenya, the students will present their work at IMPRS Scholars Day in late July.
AMPATH Consortium Research
Submitted by: Kara Wools-Kaloustian, Michael Scanlon, and Whitney Turientine
- Welcome Dr. Edith Kwobah, New Deputy Executive Director of Research at AMPATH Kenya
- Please join the AMPATH Kenya Research Program Office (RPO) in welcoming Dr. Edith Kwobah in her new role as deputy executive director of research. Dr. Kwobah, a psychiatrist and head of the department of mental health at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), comes to this position with expertise in clinical research and care, along with a passion for stigma reduction, community education and increasing mental healthcare for all. In her role as deputy executive director of research, she will be part of the RPO leadership team, which provides strategic guidance on the direction of the research program. Welcome, Dr. Kwobah!
- IU Center for Global Health Research Speaker Series with Maureen Bikoro, MD on Tuesday, April 11th
- Mark your calendars and plan to join the upcoming IU Center for Global Health Research Speaker Series session on Tuesday, April 11th, at 12 pm EST / 7 pm EAT featuring Maureen Bikoro, MD. Dr. Bikoro is a senior registrar at Moi University’s School of Medicine and she will be discussing two recent research cases entitled, “Non-cardiac comorbidities among heart failure patients admitted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital” and “A rare case of concurrent cryptococcal and tuberculous meningitis in an immunocompromised adult.” A brief Q&A will follow.
- >>> Action item: To attend please register using this link.
- Moi University School of Dentistry – Interest in Research Collaboration
- There is growing interest among Moi University School of Dentistry faculty in collaborating in a research capacity with partners across the consortium. To this end, RPO is working to make meaningful connections across current working groups, projects and the consortium at-large.
- >>>Action item: If you, or someone on your research team, are interested in connecting, please reach out to RPO at research.manager@iukenya.org.
AMPATH Mexico
Submitted by: Beth Felker
ADMINISTRATIVE:
- We are navigating UT and BUAP’s financial policies and establishing our own processes for international funds transfers.
- After several months of completing the necessary paperwork, Dell Med Financial approved our request to send up to $300K to BUAP, which will facilitate the reimbursement process particularly for BUAP faculty and staff.
- March 6-9, 2023: Estefany Lopez and Beth Felker visited Puebla to deepen relationships with accounting, IT, Puentes 3 event contacts (internal to BUAP and vendors), and create appropriate new SOPs (e.g., financial processing with BUAP and IT equipment procurement, maintenance, storage, inventory, etc.). We also provided orientations (e.g., financial processing, travel logistics, etc.) to BUAP Co-PI AMBIA grant recipients,
- We are collaborating with Debbie Ungar at IU to update the AMPATH/MAPAS México website to have a public platform to share / access SOPs and an online Visitor form, among other new features/content.
EDUCATION:
- Monthly seminars:
- March 2, 2023, 5-6:30pm CT seminar, 74 attendees. Dr. José Fausto Atonal Flores of BUAP and Dr. Mauricio Hong of UT Austin reviewed common cardiac arrhythmias and use/indication for ICDs. Click here to view.
- March 30, 2023, 6-7:30pm CT seminar, Dra. Talía Maritza Leal Alvarado of BUAP and Dra. Shanti Nulu of UT Austin will review common cardiac arrhythmias and use/indication for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Click here to register.
- Global Health Grand Rounds: April 27, 2023, 12-1pm CT, Juanita Constible will share her expertise on “How Can Health Professionals Help People Thrive in a Hotter World.” Click here to register.
- Pediatrics language elective in Puebla: The final two residents (of six total) were in Puebla (March 13-31). Recruiting an additional six for next academic year.
- Looking for Faculty with Expertise Clinical Skills and Simulation: BUAP anticipates opening a large clinical skills and simulation center in 2024. If you have expertise in simulation/clinical skills training, speak Spanish, and are interested in getting involved with simulation curriculum develop or training medical school faculty in simulation, please contact rebecca.cook@austin.utexas.edu
RESEARCH:
- RIAT & SOPs: We continue to complete the AMPATH RIAT (Research Infrastructure Assessment Tool) and develop relevant SOPs.
- Working Groups: Our team continues to support the six Working Groups to meet and plan their community projects.
- Puentes 4 2023 collaborative research summit planning is underway: Jointly with BUAP, we have developed concept note and goals and identified dates: October 23 and 24, 2024.
CARE:
- AMPATH/MAPAS México Pasantes: Becca continues to teach classes and facilitate community health practicums for pasantes (final year medical students in their year of social service) assigned within the medical school.
- Community Health Engagement and Primary Care Strengthening: In March our Pasante team was active in our regular visits to the 3 communities including: home visits for patients with NCDs lost-to-follow-up during COVID, group medical visit for patients living in diabetes and HTN in the community that only has a casa de salud to focus on strengthening their self-management and explore structural determinants, visits to local primary schools to identify priorities and needs for school-based health promotion interventions.
- Integrated Health Outreach March 15-16th we held our first multi-disciplinary Integrated Health Outreach in San Francisco Xochiteopan to targeted towards our 2 most rural communities, we had a 66 volunteers from BUAP including representation from medicine (including BUAP students and pasantes, and also residents from the University Hospital from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, Surgery, Radiology, nutrition, physical therapy and dentistry. There was incredible co-ownership and hosting the community leaders and the health committee and excellent turn-out from the community both days. We’re currently working on the report and data analysis
Brown University
Submitted by: Daria Szkwarko
- The notable news from Brown is that we are very happily anticipating Kenyan trainees in the upcoming spring, summer and fall seasons.
- Nephrology MMEDS will be arriving May 1 to stay through July 4.
- Family Medicine (attending and MMED) will be on rotation among RI hospitals through May.
- Accommodations for Kenyan students are secure July through the end of September
Duke University
Submitted by: Cynthia Binanay
CARE
- Carmen Graffagnino, neurologist who spent time in Eldoret several years ago is retiring from clinical practice at Duke and is interested in reengaging with other faculty members collaborating in the neurology space. He hopes to make a visit mid Jan-February 2024. Please contact him at carmen.graffagnino@duke.edu
- Pacemaker clinic led by Dr. Constantine Akwanalo March 6th& 10th
- Percutaneous Mitral Commissurotomy CV surgery camp led by Dr. Ron Johanssen scheduled for March 27- April 7
TRAINING
- Jeremiah Laktabai is at Duke for 2 months as a DGHI Fellow.
- CV Fellowship Lecture series continue M,W, F at 7am DST (except when surgical camps are taking place)
UT Austin
Submitted by: Beth Felker
- This month 2 medicine students, 3 medicine residents, 2 pediatric residents, and 1 neuro resident and their supervising faculty are arriving in Kenya.
- Rob Neely who specializes in adult cardiac and thoracic surgery just received a $35K grant from The Thoracic Surgery to continue his work in Kenya. This grant will run through the Global Health Division.