May 2023
Global Pediatrics Program Newsletter
Risha Moskalewicz , MD
Director, Global Pediatrics Track
The next few months will be quite an exciting time for our Global Pediatrics Program as we welcome visiting physicians from some of our international partner sites and celebrate the graduation of our senior Global Pediatrics Track residents at the end of May. This academic year has been fruitful in terms of resident and faculty scholarly work, including that highlighted below in Cambodia. Of special note, we are excited that Dr. Andrew Wu, a former Global Pediatrics Track graduate, and past Global Chief from UMN, will be returning to Minnesota to continue his career in pediatric critical care at Hennepin County Medical Center and of course as a partner in global health with our program. He recently joined Dr. Winter in Cambodia to continue his work with colleagues there, which be began while in residency here. He will be returning in late July, join us in welcoming him at our annual picnic in August!
Upcoming Events
Global Child Health Research Series
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Central Time
Topic: Remote Pediatric Critical Care Education in RLS
Location: via Zoom
Global Block Ed
Friday, May 19 | 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Topic: Global Health Education in Equity, Anti-Racism and Decolonization in the United States
Wednesday, June 7 | 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Topic: Global Peds
Dr. Stephen John & Dr. Mo Muttineni - India
Dr. Svatava Merkle - Uganda
Dr. Ashwini Arumugam - Hennepin Healthcare, Mobil Initiative, and MDH
Dr. Rashedat Oshodi – Nigeria
Global Child Health Research Series
Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Central Time
Topic: Small newborns in post-conflict northern Uganda: Burden and interventions for improved outcomes with Dr. Beatrice Odongkara
Location: via Zoom
Congratulations Graduating Residents!
Congratulations to all of our residents who are graduating this year. We look forward to celebrating you at graduation.
Reugba Bekiblele, Katrina Christian, Jason Hoard, Cassidy Hunn, Svatava Merkle, Ejiro Orubu, Rashedat Oshodi, Kayla Solstad, Katie VanDerhoe, Claire Williams.
Please make sure to met all of your Track requirements by Monday, May 22.
An update from Cambodia
Jameel Winter, MD, FAAP - Cambodia - March 4-31, 2023
This was a special trip to Cambodia for me. I started visiting in 2013, so this marked 10 years of returning to work with my clinical partners. When I first came to Cambodia in 2013, I started working with The Lake Clinic, Cambodia (TLC), an organization that provides medical services to floating fishing villages on the Tonle Sap Lake. This is a fascinating, but extremely harsh and challenging environment to live in, and the people here live off of less than $2/day on average.
As a neonatologist, my clinical niche has not been exactly aligned with the needs of TLC, and while I will continue to sing their praises until I lose my voice, I began looking for other organizations to work with that were more aligned with my clinical skills and medical knowledge. Enter Chenla Children’s Healthcare. This organization started in 2016, and aims to provide high-quality Pediatric health care (inpatient, outpatient and emergency services) in very underserved regions of Cambodia. They operate as a public-private collaborative, where some of their funding comes directly from the Ministry of Health, and their buildings are located in the same compound as provincial hospitals. They are located in Kratie, Cambodia, and recently expanded to a second hospital in Mondulkiri. They’re in the process of starting to manage a neonatal care ward in Steung Treng near the Laotian border.
While visiting with Chenla, I was able to accomplish a few goals – I conducted a neonatal mortality review over the past two years to determine if there are patterns that we could address through practice change. I also conducted a needs assessment at their main hospital, at the satellite hospital, and at the neonatal ward in Steung Treng.
This was a fascinating trip. I was able to see parts of the country I’d never visited, and made a number of new friends who work with Chenla. I also spent a little time with TLC while I was there. This all added up to a lot of time in a car (~1500km travelled), and a lot of 1-3 day stays while hopping from place to place. Ultimately, it was a very rewarding experience, and I look forward to continuing to work with Chenla in the future as they continue to expand!
Andrew Wu, MD, MPH, CTropMed® - Cambodia - February 27, 2023 - March 12, 2023
This was my fourth time visiting Kratie and the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I was so excited to return. In the last few years, friends got married, had kids, and learned new skills. The hospital had grown too – a satellite branch had begun in Mondolkiri, a province even farther east and with greater poverty than Kratie. Additionally, I had been remotely supervising a research study at Chenla Children’s Hospital in Kratie and was excited to finally see the research up close and on the ground.
Over the course of the 10 days I was on site, we saw interesting patients (a new Ebstein’s anomaly and a case of bullous pemphigoid), performed bedside and formal teaching (including a code simulation), and had challenging discussions about providing patient care with limited resources. For example, the ongoing struggles with the microbiology lab located 7 hours away continued to hamper their ability to treat sepsis with greater precision. I also spent much of my time monitoring research activities and troubleshooting issues that came up, such as malfunctioning study equipment and re-organizing study supplies. Given that we were nearing the end of the study, I hosted a celebratory debriefing meeting and get-together where we handed out prepared certificates to the study nurses and honored Sreyleak for all of her hard work as the on-site principal investigator – and the meeting was on a boat on the Mekong River! That was a first for me, ha.
While I completed the goals I set out to meet, I returned to the States with even more goals. The team in Kratie expressed more interest in conducting research as well as doing quality improvement work to improve patient care at the hospital. These included performing central lines, providing BiPAP, learning more ultrasound techniques, having RAM cannula available, preventing ventilator-associated pneumonias, and more. I’m so thankful for the incredible team at Chenla and for their incredible service to the families in this rural part of the world. I’m looking forward to supporting them in their endeavors for a better, healthier community in eastern Cambodia.
Global Pediatrics Visiting Doctors
Eunice Msuya, MD - Tanzania, visiting 04/26/23 - 5/1/2023
Dr. Eunice Msuya is a Pediatric registrar (medical officer) working at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC). Living in Arusha Tanzania, she graduated from medical school at St. Joseph University in Tanzania. Dr. Msuya completed her internship and joined the pediatric team in 2022 after working in internal medicine. She would like to become a good doctor who is specializes in pediatrics.
Godbless Philipo, MD - Tanzania, visiting 04/26/23 - 5/1/2023
Dr. Godbless Philipo is Tanzanian. He was born and raised in Arusha which is in the northern part of Tanzania. After completing his medical training, he joined Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) as an intern for one year then after, employed as a registrar in pediatrics since June 2021. Dr. Philipo's passion in taking care for pediatric patients has grown since then, particularly the neonates. He has learned and continues to do so in terms of knowledge and clinical skills needed to take care of children in a resource limiting environment. Dr. Philipo's goals and aspirations are to later pursue a residency in pediatrics and then fellowship in neonatology. He also is interested in developing his research skills and to study more on the area so that he can do more research particularly in neonatology as that is where his passion lies.
Margaret Nakuya, MBchB, MMED - Uganda, visiting 05/27/23 - 05/29/23
Dr. Margaret Nakuya is a paediatrician. Dr. Nakuya recently graduated with a Master of Medicine degree in Paediatrics and Child health and she has been in the field of Paediatrics for just a few months now.
Prior to this, Dr. Nakuya worked as a clinical trial medical officer for a large multicenter paediatric clinical trial titled; Transfusion and Treatment of severe Anaemia in African Children (TRACT trial). She also worked on the several pilot studies and other paediatric clinical trials. Working with children during the conduction of these clinical trial made her realize that she wanted to be part of the children’s lives for the rest of her life. This is when she developed interest in paediatrics as a field of specialization. During Dr. Nakuya's residency program, she was fascinated about paediatric mental health, paediatric hematology and neonatology but developed profound love and special interest in paediatric nephrology. Dr. Nakuya's master of medicine thesis was in paediatric nephrology and she will pursue a fellowship training in this field.
Dr. Nakuya holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Makerere University Kampala and a Master of Medicine degree in Paediatrics and Child Health from the same University. She has a certificate in Emergency triage, Assessment and Treatment (ETAT+). Dr. Nakuya is a member of Uganda Medical Association as well as Uganda Paediatric Association.
Her passion is to see children happy, healthy, free of pain and living their lives to the fullest. In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places and learning the different cultures.
Racheal Owomahangi, MBChB, MMED - Uganda, visiting 05/27/23 - 05/29/23
Dr. Racheal Owomahangi is an accomplished paediatrician with a passion for improving the well-being of children. She recently graduated with a Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and Child Health from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda, after completing a Bachelor's degree in Medicine and Surgery from Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Her interest in paediatrics grew during her time working at the Paediatrics outpatient department of Nsambya Hospital, one of the largest private not for profit hospitals in Uganda. During her residency program, Dr Racheal identified a significant need for the transition of care from paediatrics to adult care, which affects continuity of care for patients. She worked with a transition program, starting with the Paediatric Sickle Cell clinic, and worked to create a liaison program between the pediatric and adult hematologists. This inspired her post-graduate thesis and assessed the biggest barriers to transition, with the aim of creating a smooth transition for other Paediatric Sub-Specialties and easy continuity of care.
Outside of her professional work, Dr. Owomahangi is an avid food and culture enthusiast, and enjoys exploring different cuisine styles and food preparations as they relate to different cultural back grounds and ways of living in a diverse and ever-changing world.
Dr. Owomahangi's dedication to improving children's health, as demonstrated through her transition program, makes her a valuable asset to the medical community. Her passion for learning and exploring different cultures and cuisines is a testament to her. well-rounded approach to life.
Books and Brunch
Residents studying with colleagues in Uganda met for brunch and conversation about their elective experience. Each received a generous donation from Dr. Tina Slusher, Editor of Pediatric Procedural Adaptions for Low-Resource Settings. All of our traveling residents received a copy of the book to take with them on their elective this year.
Global Pediatrics Track Passport - Don't forget to Log-It!
You need to complete 75% of the passport to graduate on the Track. Make sure to log into Canvas.umn.edu to document your progress.
Please consider a tax-deductible donation, if possible. We use these funds to bring trainees and faculty here from our international partner sites. The trainees do four to six week electives during the summer in our hospitals and clinics. We are grateful that we have been able to bring faculty here as well to present their research and collaborate with colleagues here in Minneapolis.
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