Special to Going Global Blog: The 'Why' of Ultrasound
By Christine Butts, MD
I typically write my columns about the “how” of ultrasound, but it's also important to think about the “why.” Ultrasound to me is a tool that can be shared across cultures and barriers to broaden education and to improve patient care.
So when a colleague approached me about teaching ultrasound in Kurdistan, Iraq, I was intrigued. Nervous but intrigued. I have been teaching ultrasound to residents, students, and other faculty here in the States for almost seven years, but have always harbored a desire to teach internationally.
I spent two months as a medical student working in a hospi...
Source: Going Global - January 9, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Chaos and Tragedy in a Cambodian ED
By Remi Kessler & Natalie Catherwood
Ms. B was middle-aged and lying on a gurney without a sheet in the grossly under-resourced ED of the largest public hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She clearly had an altered level of consciousness, and she was not attached to the monitor that was behind the bed. Her open shirt exposed her to the entire ED, but her family had other concerns.
They were quick to leave as we made our way toward the bed. It became evident that she had not been seen by a doctor, despite her deteriorating condition and her family's persistent anxiety. We saw her chest rise and fall irregularly...
Source: Going Global - November 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Chaos and Tragedy in a Cambodian ED
By Remi Kessler & Natalie Catherwood
Ms. B was middle-aged and lying on a gurney without a sheet in the grossly under-resourced ED of the largest public hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She clearly had an altered level of consciousness, and she was not attached to the monitor that was behind the bed. Her open shirt exposed her to the entire ED, but her family had other concerns.
They were quick to leave as we made our way toward the bed. It became evident that she had not been seen by a doctor, despite her deteriorating condition and her family's persistent anxiety. We saw her chest rise and fall irregularly wit...
Source: Going Global - November 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Trek through Nepal
By Chris Stodard, MD, and Steve Tanner, MD
April 5: Today is the first day of camp and clinic. We started the day off with a lecture for the local health care workers, and then set our sights on taking care of patients. They were already lining up two hours before we opened our doors. The villagers have not had access to this type of health care for more than a year. The most rewarding experience we had today was with a patient who had a febrile seizure. The patient’s mother was panicking but felt much better and thanked us after we were done. Multiple patients had musculoskeletal complaints and upper respiratory sy...
Source: Going Global - October 2, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Trek through Nepal
By Chris Stodard, MD, and Steve Tanner, MD
April 5: Today is the first day of camp and clinic. We started the day off with a lecture for the local health care workers, and then set our sights on taking care of patients. They were already lining up two hours before we opened our doors. The villagers have not had access to this type of health care for more than a year. The most rewarding experience we had today was with a patient who had a febrile seizure. The patient’s mother was panicking but felt much better and thanked us after we were done. Multiple patients had musculoskeletal complaints and upper respiratory symp...
Source: Going Global - October 2, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Contrasting American EDs with the World’s Largest Hospital
By Zubair Chao, MD
Dr. Thomas Cook and I escaped the dry heat of South Carolina to land in Chengdu, China, home of West China Hospital, in July 2012. He was set to teach an emergency ultrasound class, and I was on a global mission as part of my emergency medicine residency.
Some say it is the largest hospital in the world, boasting 5,000 beds, nearly 100 operating suites, and a large outpatient center, which, on any given day, has about 10,000 patients.
West China Hospital
The ED at West China Hospital recently moved to its new home in a larger, more modern facility. It sees about 160,000 patients a...
Source: Going Global - September 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Contrasting American EDs with the World’s Largest Hospital
By Zubair Chao, MD
Dr. Thomas Cook and I escaped the dry heat of South Carolina to land in Chengdu, China, home of West China Hospital, in July 2012. He was set to teach an emergency ultrasound class, and I was on a global mission as part of my emergency medicine residency.
Some say it is the largest hospital in the world, boasting 5,000 beds, nearly 100 operating suites, and a large outpatient center, which, on any given day, has about 10,000 patients.
West China Hospital
The ED at West China Hospital recently moved to its new home in a larger, more modern facility. It sees about 160,000 patients a year, wh...
Source: Going Global - September 3, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Intense Heat, Mosquitos, and Unsafe Drinking Water Test EP in Haiti
By Jon Virkler, MD
Arrival in Haiti was a stark contrast from departure in Miami.
I had my passport scanned by an electronic sensor and rode two moving sidewalks and a train to gate D55 in Miami. I deplaned in Haiti at one of the two gates at the only international airport in the country, walked down the steps from the airplane onto the tarmac, and got onto a standing-room-only bus that took us to customs. Our bags arrived on the only baggage carousel in the airport.
The airport in Haiti.
We left the airport as a group, and fought through the throng of porters hoping for a tip of one or two American d...
Source: Going Global - August 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Intense Heat, Mosquitos, and Unsafe Drinking Water Test EP in Haiti
By Jon Virkler, MD
Arrival in Haiti was a stark contrast from departure in Miami.
I had my passport scanned by an electronic sensor and rode two moving sidewalks and a train to gate D55 in Miami. I deplaned in Haiti at one of the two gates at the only international airport in the country, walked down the steps from the airplane onto the tarmac, and got onto a standing-room-only bus that took us to customs. Our bags arrived on the only baggage carousel in the airport.
The airport in Haiti.
We left the airport as a group, and fought through the throng of porters hoping for a tip of one or two American dollars, p...
Source: Going Global - August 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Making a Difference in Samoa
By Peyton Hassinger, MD
Josh Skaggs, Nathan Ramsey, and I traveled to Samoa with Mission of Hope Ministries for two weeks in July 2012. We were part of a team of about 35 people consisting of four doctors (one other pediatrician from Hawaii), four nurses, medical students, and many other support staff.
Mission of Hope is a South Carolina organization that has been taking groups to Samoa every year for the past 15 years to do medical work. (http://missionofhope-us.org.) The leader is a pastor originally from American Samoa who now lives in Columbia, SC. He recently became the chief of his village in American Samoa, and is...
Source: Going Global - May 12, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Making a Difference in Samoa
By Peyton Hassinger, MD
Josh Skaggs, Nathan Ramsey, and I traveled to Samoa with Mission of Hope Ministries for two weeks in July 2012. We were part of a team of about 35 people consisting of four doctors (one other pediatrician from Hawaii), four nurses, medical students, and many other support staff.
Mission of Hope is a South Carolina organization that has been taking groups to Samoa every year for the past 15 years to do medical work. (http://missionofhope-us.org.) The leader is a pastor originally from American Samoa who now lives in Columbia, SC. He recently became the chief of his village in American Samoa, and is n...
Source: Going Global - May 12, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Eye-Opening Medical Missions in India and China
By Zubair Chao, MD
I had an opportunity to visit India as part of George Washington University’s International Emergency Medicine & Global Public Health Fellowship Program in April 2013. I gave lectures on endocrinology and HEENT as teaching faculty. I had already planned to go to China with my residency program and ultrasound fellowship directors, Drs. Cook and Hunt, respectively, and it was an easy decision for me to combine the trips for a firsthand view of emergency medical services in the world’s two most populated countries.
Emergency medicine is new in India, and it is not widely accepted as a reco...
Source: Going Global - March 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Eye-Opening Medical Missions in India and China
By Zubair Chao, MD
I had an opportunity to visit India as part of George Washington University’s International Emergency Medicine & Global Public Health Fellowship Program in April 2013. I gave lectures on endocrinology and HEENT as teaching faculty. I had already planned to go to China with my residency program and ultrasound fellowship directors, Drs. Cook and Hunt, respectively, and it was an easy decision for me to combine the trips for a firsthand view of emergency medical services in the world’s two most populated countries.
Emergency medicine is new in India, and it is not widely accepted as a recogniz...
Source: Going Global - March 5, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Solidifying my Career Path in Samoa
By Nathan Ramsey, MD
I’ve had the privilege of going on two medical missions to Samoa during my residency at Palmetto Health Richland. The first was after my intern year in July 2009; it changed my life and helped to solidify my chosen career path.
I fell in love with the Samoan people during my first trip, and returned the following year with several people from Palmetto, including emergency nurses and fellow residents.
The trip was made possible by a nondenominational Christian organization in Columbia, SC, called Mission of Hope. The director is a local pastor who grew up in American S...
Source: Going Global - December 2, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Solidifying my Career Path in Samoa
By Nathan Ramsey, MD
I’ve had the privilege of going on two medical missions to Samoa during my residency at Palmetto Health Richland. The first was after my intern year in July 2009; it changed my life and helped to solidify my chosen career path.
I fell in love with the Samoan people during my first trip, and returned the following year with several people from Palmetto, including emergency nurses and fellow residents.
The trip was made possible by a nondenominational Christian organization in Columbia, SC, called Mission of Hope. The director is a local pastor who grew up in American Samoa, and ha...
Source: Going Global - December 2, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
