eMagazine March 2023

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OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Reflections Global Health eMagazine March 2023 Highlights Reviews GH Narrative Reflections Hispanic and Latinx Voices Global Local Voices of Ugandan Students Nursing Division Women’s Health Education Innovation and Technology Our Beautiful Planet Art to Remind Us of Who We Can Be Article of the Month You’re Invited Photo News Calendar Global Health Family Resources Previous Issues of the eMagazine Butterflies Written by Keara Lynn MD Candidate, Class of 2023 The Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont No matter how much reading and mental preparation you do before starting a global health elective, there are, unsurprisingly perhaps, some things you can’t prepare for. After only two days on the wards at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, there have been many times where I have thought to myself “If we just had XYZ, this would be easier.” For a woman who had recently given birth with tachycardia and shortness of breath; “If we just had CTA, we could quickly rule out PE.” For a woman presenting with left hemiparesis and hypertensive emergency; “If we had emergent CT we could differentiate hemorrhagic vs ischemic.” For a man who was seen for mysterious symptoms in KS clinic who had been feeling ill for so long that he told us “I just want to stay at home and die” but who could not afford the histopathology for a skin punch biopsy; “how much does histopathology cost anyway and is there no way to get this test covered?” Our first night on call, we were a bit surprised to see a consultant with a Butterfly portable ultrasound. We gravitated to the patient’s bedside to watch the scan. “You have these at home?” the consultant asked. We confirmed that we use Butterfly quite a bit at home. “Well maybe you can bring us some more the next time you come?” Whether this was said in jest or in seriousness, it was difficult to tell. Either way, at that point I had butterflies in my stomach. Could we bring Butterfly units with us the next time students rotate here? Should we have brought something with us this time? I know for a fact that there are approximately 10 Butterfly kits in the UVM Dana Library available to students at any given time. I know this because I have checked one out twice now myself. For a month at a time, I was able to bring the kit home and practice scanning my friends. But other than the two hours I spent scanning over the course of the month, the Butterfly sat neatly packed away in its bag in my apartment. A perfectly useful tool, essential to diagnosis and management decisions, totally portable, totally functional, just sitting around. Some of the University of Zimbabwe medical students on our team wandered over to the patient’s bedside to see what was going on. One of the students mentioned she had not used a portable ultrasound machine before. The butterflies in my stomach were guilt and also sadness. Does UVM really need 10 butterfly kits sitting in the library? There is never a waiting list to take one out. Could we get away with five or three kits instead? Can we justify this excess in the name of medical education? Reflections continued on next page >> 16
OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Health eMagazine March 2023 Highlights Reviews GH Narrative Reflections Hispanic and Latinx Voices Global Local Voices of Ugandan Students Nursing Division Women’s Health Education Innovation and Technology UVMLCOM M4 students Micaila Baroffio, Keara Lynn, Charlotte Gemes at Nyanga National Park in Eastern Zimbabwe One of our professors mentioned to us this week that resuscitations in Zim look a lot different than they do in high resourced countries. She mentioned “before you rush to resuscitate the patient, you should look in the resuscitation cart to see what tools you have available to you so you can make a decision about how to proceed.” This is not something I have had to consider up until now. I understand Our Beautiful Planet Art to Remind Us of Who We Can Be Article of the Month You’re Invited Photo News Calendar Global Health Family Resources Previous Issues of the eMagazine UVMLCOM M4 students Charlotte Gemes, Keara Lynn, Micaila Baroffio. Outside the Medical School 17 Beautiful trees outside of Parirenyatwa Hospital Reflections continued on next page >>
Page 1 and 2: March 2023 Volume 51 NUVANCE HEALTH
Page 3 and 4: OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Heal
Page 15: OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Enduring Gl
Page 35 and 36: OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Planet Eart
Page 39 and 40: OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION WHO May Soo
Page 43 and 44: OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Students in

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