Hello everyone,
Just a quick update to let everyone know that we are safe and sound in Queen Elizabeth National Park. After a glorious night's sleep at the Danish hostel, we drove a couple more hours to the Mbarara Hospital. There we gave 3 of our 4 presentations and got a tour of the hospital, which was a very interesting comparison to the two hospitals we had already seen. Mbarara is a Regional Referral Hospital and the wards were very full, similar to the congestion we saw in Mulago. We were then able to have lunch with some of the experts, and we discussed medical education in East Africa, the role of traditional healers, and much more! Then we traveled some more in the car, stopping outside the entrence to the National Park to give presentations on Brucellosis and Anthrax, both of which went very well. Our host in the Park and a wildlife expert, Dr. Margaret, gave us a thorough education about park management structure, and we met the bureau chiefs of other areas. Then we completed our drive by entering the park, where we saw many elephants, warthogs, and beautiful birds. It was so exhilarating and the wildlife experts among us were up in arms! We arrived at our hostel tired but excited, and were shown the beautiful facilities. We availed ourselves of the glorious food and drink, and had a relaxing evening of game playing and conversation.
This morning we traveled to Kagando Hospital, a private, not-for-profit hospital about an hour from the park. We gave presentations on Diabetes and Brucellosis to our biggest crowd so far - 47 people! - of doctors, nurses, students, lab workers, and administrators. Our presenters are experts now, so despite technical difficulties, we prevailed. We shared a lunch with some doctors and vets, and shared conversation about the medical issues facing the Kasese district. We were very interested by the differences between the medical and public health issues faced in Kampala as compared to those in rural regions, which we postulate makes national planning more difficult. Furthermore, so little is known about issues like Brucellosis that before any measures can be implemented to treat or prevent, it will be necessary to do a sampling study to determine prevalence among human, livestock, and wildlife populations. However, we were not bogged down by these difficulties, but instead encouraged by the promise of the future of the relationship between Macalester and Ugandan institutions of medicine, laboratory sciences, and higher learning. Though we will be sad to leave here, we will look excitedly forward to the future of the Global Health Scholars Program and other research and scholarly endeavors.
Now we have safely returned to our hostel after another long day, and are awaiting a possible talk by the Lion King - a vet who works in the park tagging lions, who we will be shadowing tomorrow starting bright and early. We will also go on a game drive, and a boat ride along the Kazinga Channel. All in all, it's unlikely that we will have a chance to update tomorrow, but we will be soaking up the last of the Equator sun and enjoying Uganda to the fullest before (most of us) return to the Twin Cities!
We will try to post a few pictures in the next couple of minutes, but if the internet malfunctions, happy trails from Queen Elizabeth!
Best,
PIGH
Just a quick update to let everyone know that we are safe and sound in Queen Elizabeth National Park. After a glorious night's sleep at the Danish hostel, we drove a couple more hours to the Mbarara Hospital. There we gave 3 of our 4 presentations and got a tour of the hospital, which was a very interesting comparison to the two hospitals we had already seen. Mbarara is a Regional Referral Hospital and the wards were very full, similar to the congestion we saw in Mulago. We were then able to have lunch with some of the experts, and we discussed medical education in East Africa, the role of traditional healers, and much more! Then we traveled some more in the car, stopping outside the entrence to the National Park to give presentations on Brucellosis and Anthrax, both of which went very well. Our host in the Park and a wildlife expert, Dr. Margaret, gave us a thorough education about park management structure, and we met the bureau chiefs of other areas. Then we completed our drive by entering the park, where we saw many elephants, warthogs, and beautiful birds. It was so exhilarating and the wildlife experts among us were up in arms! We arrived at our hostel tired but excited, and were shown the beautiful facilities. We availed ourselves of the glorious food and drink, and had a relaxing evening of game playing and conversation.
This morning we traveled to Kagando Hospital, a private, not-for-profit hospital about an hour from the park. We gave presentations on Diabetes and Brucellosis to our biggest crowd so far - 47 people! - of doctors, nurses, students, lab workers, and administrators. Our presenters are experts now, so despite technical difficulties, we prevailed. We shared a lunch with some doctors and vets, and shared conversation about the medical issues facing the Kasese district. We were very interested by the differences between the medical and public health issues faced in Kampala as compared to those in rural regions, which we postulate makes national planning more difficult. Furthermore, so little is known about issues like Brucellosis that before any measures can be implemented to treat or prevent, it will be necessary to do a sampling study to determine prevalence among human, livestock, and wildlife populations. However, we were not bogged down by these difficulties, but instead encouraged by the promise of the future of the relationship between Macalester and Ugandan institutions of medicine, laboratory sciences, and higher learning. Though we will be sad to leave here, we will look excitedly forward to the future of the Global Health Scholars Program and other research and scholarly endeavors.
Now we have safely returned to our hostel after another long day, and are awaiting a possible talk by the Lion King - a vet who works in the park tagging lions, who we will be shadowing tomorrow starting bright and early. We will also go on a game drive, and a boat ride along the Kazinga Channel. All in all, it's unlikely that we will have a chance to update tomorrow, but we will be soaking up the last of the Equator sun and enjoying Uganda to the fullest before (most of us) return to the Twin Cities!
We will try to post a few pictures in the next couple of minutes, but if the internet malfunctions, happy trails from Queen Elizabeth!
Best,
PIGH
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