Global Health Program
During emergency medicine residency training, our residents can engage their global EM interests through electives and longitudinal global health experiences.
These experiences will augment their cultural competence, clinical decision-making, and understanding of health systems while encouraging the formation of core professional virtues of altruism, courage, and justice.
During their global experiences, residents should expect to develop competencies tailored to areas of interest such as comparative health systems, cultural humility, emergency medicine education, disaster preparedness, simulation medicine, infectious disease and tropical medicine, ultrasonography, and austere medicine.
Residents may expect to practice medicine in settings with fewer resources than they are used to, honing decision-making, clinical exam skills, and improving resource stewardship.
During their global experience, residents will work at the intersection of professional ethics and local standards of care, integrating with a local care team with the lens of value-added efforts to their host communities. The trainee will collaborate with faculty to identify and integrate into projects and clinical work which prioritize long-term investment and best practices in global health and emergency medicine.
Engaging professional values of service and altruism have been shown to be protective against burnout. We hope that these opportunities will strengthen trainee’s commitment to vulnerable patient populations who may not have adequate access to care while in training and beyond. We believe this will be of foundational benefit to their growth as physicians and to the communities they serve in Greenville, South Carolina, and beyond.
Below are brief trip descriptions from previous trainees describing their experiences. Dr. Adobaw worked in Kumasi, Ghana during his final year of residency, and Dr. Throckmorton worked in Mbale, Uganda during her Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship.
My time at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has been a whirlwind of learning and adaptation. For instance, I quickly had to learn that "epinephrine" is called "adrenaline" here, and how to swiftly convert blood glucose levels from mmol/L to mg/dL. I have spent the past two weeks in the Emergency Medicine Residency program at KATH, and I am now starting my final week here.
Emergency Medicine is a relatively young specialty in this country, having been established just over a decade ago. It is still undergoing significant development and facing numerous growing pains. The hospital is grappling with defining the role of emergency medicine in the patient care continuum and deciding whether to train residents using the American or British model.
This experience has been profoundly enriching. I had the unique opportunity to serve on the medical team during a World Cup qualifying match, which was an unforgettable experience. Additionally, I have been involved in teaching medical students, nurses, nursing students, patients,
and junior residents, sharing my knowledge and learning from them in return. The checklist for my final week includes exploring the Kejetia Market and maybe visiting the Manhyia palace on my day off.
I am immensely grateful for this experience and for everyone who has contributed to making it successful. The resilience and dedication of the staff and residents here have been truly inspiring. They have shown me the importance of adaptability and resourcefulness in medicine, especially in settings where resources are limited. This experience has broadened my perspective and deepened my appreciation for the medical profession's global diversity and the common challenges we all face.
As I reflect on my time here, I am reminded of the fundamental principles of medicine: compassion, dedication, and the relentless pursuit of improving patient care. Despite the systemic challenges and resource limitations, the commitment of the healthcare professionals at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital to their patients' well-being has been unwavering. This experience will undoubtedly shape my approach to medicine and patient care in the future.
-Dr. Brandford Adobaw
Dr. Adobaw with the Emergency Medicine crew at KATH
While an Ultrasound fellow at Prisma Health Upstate, Dr. Throckmorton spent 3 weeks in Uganda working with Ultrasound Uganda, organized through the University of Wisconsin.
Through this program, she gave lectures to residents as well as participated in hands-on scanning time at a regional hospital.
Additionally she spent time scanning and providing instruction on POCUS with a local clinic and palliative care center.
She hopes to continue her international work in the coming years with a special interest in Latin America.
Dr. Laura Throckmorton
Ultrasound machine eager to diagnose and thwart disease
Dr. Throckmorton with part of the team during ultrasound rounds
Ugandan ward (avoiding identifiable patients)