Blogging From The Portoviejo, Ecuador Visiting Educator Workshop

  Dr. Jorge Palacios And A Resident
  Setting The Schedule 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Portoviejo, Ecuador - Seth Mazow, Interplast staff:  Hello.  I am accompanying a visiting educator trip to Portoviejo, Ecuador for the next week.  A plastic surgeon, nurse practitioner and an anesthesiologist have all come here to help renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Jorge Palacios teach his residents advanced techniques in reconstructive plastic surgery.  They will be giving lectures and working in the operating room, mixing academic theories and hands-on training in order to provide a comprehensive  educational experience for the residents.

The visiting educator program does not teach untrained people how to be doctors.  These workshops teach local doctors and residents the extra skills that have been gleaned from years of experience in American hospitals.  Doctors in the states have access to journals, conferences, colleagues and innovations that allow them to constantly refine their craft.  The goal of the visiting educator program is to transfer that knowledge to those who help the poorest citizens in the poorest nations.  By furthering the education of the current and future generation of doctors and nurses in countries like Ecuador, Interplast ascribes to the "teach a (wo)man how to fish" school of humanitarian work.

My job here is to document this visiting educator workshop so the Interplast community and the general public can see how Interplast spends our money, which, I might add, comes entirely from donations from individuals and grants from foundations.  This can be as interactive as you want, so if you want to talk to the doctors or ask any questions, leave a comment and I will try to get you a quick response. We can have live conference calls via Skype some nights if there is interest, so let me know if you would like to take part in one.  I have to be awake in 4+ hours, so I think I shall hit the hay.  Check back tomorrow (Monday) evening for an update on the first full day of teaching/surgery.

Comments

[Beth]

Hi Seth,

This is fascinating! Did you bring your camera with the video capability? It might be nice to hear a one minute clip from one of the doctors in training about what they learned and what they will takeaway from the session. I know it might be tough with bandwidth, etc. If not, just a photo with some text answering the question.

What did you learn?
How did what you learned will change your work?