After a literal 24hrs of traveling, it was refreshing to wake up and relax on the first morning. Being in residency, I don’t get to do much personal reading but serendipitously, a rooster that didn’t know to crow at dawn, started at 4:30am and wouldn’t stop till I got up an hour before my alarm. So I went outside as the sun was coming up and I got to start a new book. Not an expected start to the first day in Uganda, but a much needed one giving me time to be in the moment.
Following breakfast we left for Masindi. As soon as we set out, it brought flashbacks to my time in Peru. In undergrad, I went on a global health trip to provide medical care to people in poverty in rural Peru. While I still have reservations about my skills in a completely different environment, I was more prepared for the medical aspect of this trip. However, I forgot how all of the shacks, makeshift floor markets, scattered trash, and other signs of poverty [of this kind], is nothing we experience on this scale in the states. It humbled and reminded me why I was here and what kind of difference I should try to make.
Once we got to the Masindi Hotel we unpacked, had lunch, and walked to the hospital. It was amazing to see the kind of work OneWorld Health, along with the community and partners, has done to provide great care to the people here. I have only practiced in the US so I can only compare the hospital to what I know back home. It’s capacity per capita is much smaller, only a few labs are available, they only have an X-ray and ultrasound for imaging, and wards are a single room. But as I talked and learned from the hospital director, local physician and others, their model for care and values align exactly with my experiences. Their main goals are providing excellent care, achieving it in an affordable way to people of poverty, and doing so in a sustainable model. Thus far they have done this and expanded their capabilities. This made me honored and excited to practice medicine along side of them tomorrow.
We made our way back to the hotel, packed and took inventory for the first day of clinic, had dinner and then got to relax. Now as I’m reflecting on this first day, one thing stands out. Everyone who is involved with serving this community and is deeply committed to it, keeps telling us “thank you for being here and giving us your time.” Don’t get me wrong, it is very gracious of them, but I don’t feel like I deserve it. I would be lying if I didn’t say some of the many reasons I came here are selfish in nature. While I don’t think this takes away from the experience, it gives me the motivation, focus and purpose to live up to that “thank you.” I hope by the end of my experience here, I can look back at this post and feel better knowing I not only helped the community live a healthier life, but also changed me to be a better, more gracious person for others in the future.
+ Dr. Ethan Farmer, Emergency Medicine Resident, Prisma Health
Following breakfast we left for Masindi. As soon as we set out, it brought flashbacks to my time in Peru. In undergrad, I went on a global health trip to provide medical care to people in poverty in rural Peru. While I still have reservations about my skills in a completely different environment, I was more prepared for the medical aspect of this trip. However, I forgot how all of the shacks, makeshift floor markets, scattered trash, and other signs of poverty [of this kind], is nothing we experience on this scale in the states. It humbled and reminded me why I was here and what kind of difference I should try to make.
Once we got to the Masindi Hotel we unpacked, had lunch, and walked to the hospital. It was amazing to see the kind of work OneWorld Health, along with the community and partners, has done to provide great care to the people here. I have only practiced in the US so I can only compare the hospital to what I know back home. It’s capacity per capita is much smaller, only a few labs are available, they only have an X-ray and ultrasound for imaging, and wards are a single room. But as I talked and learned from the hospital director, local physician and others, their model for care and values align exactly with my experiences. Their main goals are providing excellent care, achieving it in an affordable way to people of poverty, and doing so in a sustainable model. Thus far they have done this and expanded their capabilities. This made me honored and excited to practice medicine along side of them tomorrow.
We made our way back to the hotel, packed and took inventory for the first day of clinic, had dinner and then got to relax. Now as I’m reflecting on this first day, one thing stands out. Everyone who is involved with serving this community and is deeply committed to it, keeps telling us “thank you for being here and giving us your time.” Don’t get me wrong, it is very gracious of them, but I don’t feel like I deserve it. I would be lying if I didn’t say some of the many reasons I came here are selfish in nature. While I don’t think this takes away from the experience, it gives me the motivation, focus and purpose to live up to that “thank you.” I hope by the end of my experience here, I can look back at this post and feel better knowing I not only helped the community live a healthier life, but also changed me to be a better, more gracious person for others in the future.
+ Dr. Ethan Farmer, Emergency Medicine Resident, Prisma Health