AAHPM Winter Quarterly 2011 : Page 17

WINTER 2011 17 AAHPM Developing Countries Scholars: Reflections on Assembly Experience Marcin Chwistek, MD FAAHPM In 2011, for the first time in AAHPM’s history, the Academy awarded three Developing Countries Scholarships to phy-sicians in support of their participation in the 2011 Annual Assembly. Bishnu Dutta Paudel, MD, Nepal; Eddie Mwebe-sa, MD MMed ChB, Uganda; and Quach Thanh Khanh, MD MS, Vietnam, were selected from more than 30 applicants and attended the meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada. When I interviewed them in February 2011 we talked about their struggles and hopes related to taking care of patients with life-threatening illness. (See “Crossing Inter-national Borders: Stories from Abroad,” in the summer 2011 issue of AAHPM Quarterly. ) I was fascinated by their stories and impressed by their commitment. Six months after they returned to their home practices, the Academy asked them to reflect on their visit. Dr. Quach, a radiation oncologist from Vietnam, replied: “I have gained valuable experiences, met many great people, and am grateful for such opportunity.” Since returning to Vietnam he has presented several talks to his medical community that touch on issues of most interest to him: new palliative medicine drugs, building hospital-based palliative care programs, and developing outpa-tient palliative care clinics. He is also working with a med-ical student from the United States who is conducting a research program looking at pain management in cancer patients in Vietnam. “I felt so welcomed by the kindness of other attendees…I feel confident because I know there are more resources and support out there,” he added. Dr. Paudel, a medical oncologist from Nepal, shared that he has been able to deliver several presentations to nurs-ing and physician audiences focusing on topics such as palliative care in lung cancer, the interface between oncology and palliative care, and pain management top-ics including opioid selection in hepatic and renal failure. He also co-organized a day of palliative care training for the National Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr. Paudel said that he is more mindful now about including pal-liative medicine from the outset of cancer diagnosis. He continues to teach the principles of palliative medicine to the medical and nursing staff at his hospital. Dr. Mwebesa, an internist from Uganda, said “I admired the humor, fluency, and variety of presentations and the methods used in learning [at the Annual Assembly]. I have since incorporated some of these methods into my talks.” Those methods turned out to be of particu-lar interest to Dr. Mwebesa. He has been working on Drs. Mwebesa, Paudel, and Quach (left to right) were the inaugural recipients of the AAHPM Developing Countries Scholarship. “I now include palliative care right from diagnosis and teach my residents to include palliative care while managing each cancer patient,” Dr. Paudel said. developing educational initiatives for the Hospice Africa Uganda, which has since morphed into the Institute of Palliative Medicine for Africa. He has been working on educational modules for teaching palliative medicine, including distance learning programs. He was also pro-moted to the position of director of clinical services and, in addition to educational responsibilities, he also over-sees the work of the entire clinical team at three differ-ent locations. During our meeting in Vancouver we had talked about the difficulties of obtaining oral morphine in Uganda. Dr. Mwebesa reported that morphine is now being reconstituted at the Hospice’s Pharmacy Depart-ment for all of Uganda—hardly a small undertaking. All three physicians talked about their increased aware-ness of self-care issues. “Since returning home I aim to work efficiently, recognize burn-out easier in myself and my team, and take deliberate effort to take time off to relax,” Dr. Mwebesa said. They believe that continuing the Developing Countries Scholarship program will provide a great benefit to their colleagues. “Programs like this one provide the opportu-nity to learn palliative care and to develop relations with colleagues around the world,” Dr. Paudel said. “Thanks to the contacts I have made I am able to conduct new pal-liative care activities in Nepal.” Dr. Mwebesa commented that “the bridges and networks we build are valuable for the progress of professionals, and they open the world up for those of us who are in the formative stages of a career in palliative care.” The 2012 Developing Countries Scholarship recipients will be announced in early 2012. Attend the 2012 Annual Assembly in Denver, CO, to meet this year’s recipients. VOL. 12

AAHPM Developing Countries Scholars: Reflections on Assembly Experience

Marcin Chwistek

In 2011, for the first time in AAHPM’s history, the Academy awarded three Developing Countries Scholarships to physicians in support of their participation in the 2011 Annual Assembly. Bishnu Dutta Paudel, MD, Nepal; Eddie Mwebesa, MD MMed ChB, Uganda; and Quach Thanh Khanh, MD MS, Vietnam, were selected from more than 30 applicants and attended the meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada. When I interviewed them in February 2011 we talked about their struggles and hopes related to taking care of patients with life-threatening illness. (See “Crossing International Borders: Stories from Abroad,” in the summer 2011 issue of AAHPM Quarterly.) I was fascinated by their stories and impressed by their commitment. Six months after they returned to their home practices, the Academy asked them to reflect on their visit. Dr. Quach, a radiation oncologist from Vietnam, replied: “I have gained valuable experiences, met many great people, and am grateful for such opportunity.” Since returning to Vietnam he has presented several talks to his medical community that touch on issues of most interest to him: new palliative medicine drugs, building hospitalbased palliative care programs, and developing outpatient palliative care clinics. He is also working with a medical student from the United States who is conducting a research program looking at pain management in cancer patients in Vietnam. “I felt so welcomed by the kindness of other attendees…I feel confident because I know there are more resources and support out there,” he added. Dr. Paudel, a medical oncologist from Nepal, shared that he has been able to deliver several presentations to nursing and physician audiences focusing on topics such as palliative care in lung cancer, the interface between oncology and palliative care, and pain management topics including opioid selection in hepatic and renal failure. He also co-organized a day of palliative care training for the National Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr. Paudel said that he is more mindful now about including palliative medicine from the outset of cancer diagnosis. He continues to teach the principles of palliative medicine to the medical and nursing staff at his hospital. Dr. Mwebesa, an internist from Uganda, said “I admired the humor, fluency, and variety of presentations and the methods used in learning [at the Annual Assembly]. I have since incorporated some of these methods into my talks.” Those methods turned out to be of particular interest to Dr. Mwebesa. He has been working on developing educational initiatives for the Hospice Africa Uganda, which has since morphed into the Institute of Palliative Medicine for Africa. He has been working on educational modules for teaching palliative medicine, including distance learning programs. He was also promoted to the position of director of clinical services and, in addition to educational responsibilities, he also oversees the work of the entire clinical team at three different locations. During our meeting in Vancouver we had talked about the difficulties of obtaining oral morphine in Uganda. Dr. Mwebesa reported that morphine is now being reconstituted at the Hospice’s Pharmacy Department for all of Uganda—hardly a small undertaking. All three physicians talked about their increased awareness of self-care issues. “Since returning home I aim to work efficiently, recognize burn-out easier in myself and my team, and take deliberate effort to take time off to relax,” Dr. Mwebesa said. They believe that continuing the Developing Countries Scholarship program will provide a great benefit to their colleagues. “Programs like this one provide the opportunity to learn palliative care and to develop relations with colleagues around the world,” Dr. Paudel said. “Thanks to the contacts I have made I am able to conduct new palliative care activities in Nepal.” Dr. Mwebesa commented that “the bridges and networks we build are valuable for the progress of professionals, and they open the world up for those of us who are in the formative stages of a career in palliative care.” In 2011, for the first time in AAHPM’s history, the Academy awarded three Developing Countries Scholarships to physicians in support of their participation in the 2011 Annual Assembly. Bishnu Dutta Paudel, MD, Nepal; Eddie Mwebesa, MD MMed ChB, Uganda; and Quach Thanh Khanh, MD MS, Vietnam, were selected from more than 30 applicants and attended the meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada. When I interviewed them in February 2011 we talked about their struggles and hopes related to taking care of patients with life-threatening illness. (See “Crossing International Borders: Stories from Abroad,” in the summer 2011 issue of AAHPM Quarterly.) I was fascinated by their stories and impressed by their commitment. Six months after they returned to their home practices, the Academy asked them to reflect on their visit. Dr. Quach, a radiation oncologist from Vietnam, replied: “I have gained valuable experiences, met many great people, and am grateful for such opportunity.” Since returning to Vietnam he has presented several talks to his medical community that touch on issues of most interest to him: new palliative medicine drugs, building hospitalbased palliative care programs, and developing outpatient palliative care clinics. He is also working with a medical student from the United States who is conducting a research program looking at pain management in cancer patients in Vietnam. “I felt so welcomed by the kindness of other attendees…I feel confident because I know there are more resources and support out there,” he added. Dr. Paudel, a medical oncologist from Nepal, shared that he has been able to deliver several presentations to nursing and physician audiences focusing on topics such as palliative care in lung cancer, the interface between oncology and palliative care, and pain management topics including opioid selection in hepatic and renal failure. He also co-organized a day of palliative care training for the National Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr. Paudel said that he is more mindful now about including palliative medicine from the outset of cancer diagnosis. He continues to teach the principles of palliative medicine to the medical and nursing staff at his hospital. Dr. Mwebesa, an internist from Uganda, said “I admired the humor, fluency, and variety of presentations and the methods used in learning [at the Annual Assembly]. I have since incorporated some of these methods into my talks.” Those methods turned out to be of particular interest to Dr. Mwebesa. He has been working on developing educational initiatives for the Hospice Africa Uganda, which has since morphed into the Institute of Palliative Medicine for Africa. He has been working on educational modules for teaching palliative medicine, including distance learning programs. He was also promoted to the position of director of clinical services and, in addition to educational responsibilities, he also oversees the work of the entire clinical team at three different locations. During our meeting in Vancouver we had talked about the difficulties of obtaining oral morphine in Uganda. Dr. Mwebesa reported that morphine is now being reconstituted at the Hospice’s Pharmacy Department for all of Uganda—hardly a small undertaking. All three physicians talked about their increased awareness of self-care issues. “Since returning home I aim to work efficiently, recognize burn-out easier in myself and my team, and take deliberate effort to take time off to relax,” Dr. Mwebesa said. They believe that continuing the Developing Countries Scholarship program will provide a great benefit to their colleagues. “Programs like this one provide the opportunity to learn palliative care and to develop relations with colleagues around the world,” Dr. Paudel said. “Thanks to the contacts I have made I am able to conduct new palliative care activities in Nepal.” Dr. Mwebesa commented that “the bridges and networks we build are valuable for the progress of professionals, and they open the world up for those of us who are in the formative stages of a career in palliative care.” The 2012 Developing Countries Scholarship recipients will be announced in early 2012. Attend the 2012 Annual Assembly in Denver, CO, to meet this year’s recipients.

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