Mwalimu

Since my arrival in Kenya, the Casualty department has given me the name Mwalimu, which means teacher in Swahili.  Teaching has become one of the most enjoyable parts of my job here, primarily because the Kenyans are so eager to learn and appreciative of any efforts to provide them with more education.  To achieve the goal of developing emergency medicine in Western Kenya, where the specialty currently does not exist, it is important to begin teaching my Kenyan colleagues about some of the basic concepts in emergency medicine.  As part of this, I have started a Basic Life Support (BLS) class which everyone in the department is required to attend, including administrative staff.  The majority of people taking the class have never had any training in BLS, which includes CPR and managing choking victims.

An EM/Peds resident helping with the practical portion of the class

After teaching BLS, the Kenyans like to show their appreciation through a small speech followed by a special applause.  They have a number of special handclapping which they all do together to say thank you.  I have received a different one after each of my BLS classes.  Today was special though; after class, I received the "Obama Clap" which consisted of me standing at the head of the class waving to the Kenyans like Obama while they clapped for me.  Awkward, honoring, and hillarious all at the same time.

We have trained over a hundred people in the department and have more classes on the schedule.  With the success of the class, there has been discussion about rolling this out to the rest of the hospital to provide training to everyone on the wards.  It definitely is an honor and blessing to be available to meet some of the needs here in Kenya, hoping to improve the emergency medical care for these beautiful people.