On July 27 at noon, we conducted the first Distance Learning lecture in a series that is being developed for continuing medical education (CME) with the Haitian Medical Association (AMH) and its President Dr. Claude Surena. The pilot has been a few months in the making, as we needed to address technological issues that will allow the delivery of internet-based live lectures from North America to Port-au-Prince. Nearly 30 senior physicians, all members of the AMH, attended the lecture on acute renal failure, delivered by Dr. Brian Remillard, Section Chief of Nephrology/Hypertension at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, from his office in New Hampshire, USA. The event went well and was positively received by the participants and the speaker, and now we are working with the leadership of AMH to set a lecture series program for the next 6 months.

Two additional photos of the event are below.

We’ve been busy in the last few weeks, working to strengthen relationships with schools and nonprofits throughout Haiti, and translating those relationships into real progress for Haiti’s medical education system. Here’s a summary of the most recent news:

PIH Initiative
Partners in Health (PIH) is one of the most outstanding organizations working in Haiti, with a history of over 20 years of results. In addition to its wide-ranging clinical work, PIH also places a priority on strengthening medical education in Haiti. HME has already successfully provided remote lectures via videoconferencing (many thanks to our partners at Vidyo) at PIH’s teaching hospitals in Cange and Hinche. PIH has recently begun construction on a new, state-of-the-art 320-bed teaching hospital in Mirebalais, 35 miles north of Port-au-Prince and we hope to continue in providing faculty and curriculum assistance for this new facility.

Haitian Medical Association
Continuing medical education (CME) is an important part of any physician’s professional development. The field of medicine is always changing, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on new ideas and knowledge. In the U.S. and other Western nations, an established system of CME ensures that all physicians are continually learning, but Haiti’s system is piecemeal at best. We were invited to work with the Haitian Medical Association to assist in the establishment of a clear program for CME, focusing first on primary care physicians. We will begin a remote lecture program this month, again using videoconferencing technology provided by Vidyo, with a lecture from Dr. Brian Remillard from Dartmouth College.

St. Damien Hospital
We were recently asked by members of the Brown University Medical School community to contact St. Damien, a 120-bed pediatric hospital in Port-au-Prince, for technical and academic assistance with their audio and videoconferencing system. They currently have a weekly clinical consultation with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, but are finding that their internet connection is unreliable and their computer hardware is not up to the task. We are working together to improve their system and also to provide additional lecturers in French, as well as assisting with adapting current family medicine residency curriculum to be useful in a pediatric setting.

Quisqueya University
We have been meeting with the Dean at the Faculté des Sciences et Santé at Quisqueya University, a private university in Port-au-Prince, to discuss how to work together on upgrading parts of the curriculum at the medical school. Our colleagues at Quisqueya have set their priorities for which pieces of the curriculum are most valuable, and we will use existing curricula from U.S. and Canadian medical schools, adapted it to fit the needs and resources of Quisqueya. We are also planning to aid with training administrative staff, mentoring student projects, and helping in the establishment of a website for the medical school.

As you can see, we have been busy identifying needs from our Haitian partners. This is the essence of our approach: we ask first, what do you need? Only once the needs have been articulated, we can begin to look for other partners, preferably already working in Haiti, who can help with specific projects. 

Today marks one year since the devastating earthquake that changed so much in Haiti. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti today and every day, and our efforts to help rebuild the Haitian medical education system are just beginning. We are grateful to our colleagues and staff in Haiti for allowing us to be part of their lives, and we are grateful for everyone who is lending a hand.

For decades there had been a shortage in the number of physicians working in Haiti. Prior to the January 2010 earthquake, there were only four medical schools in the country of Haiti, all of which suffered severe structural damage and a devastating loss of personnel. As a result, regular academic work came to a halt and Haitian medical students were left without their academic institutions. The HME Project, a non-profit ( 501c3) organization ,was established by healthcare providers, academics, and social activists to work in alliance with Haitian medical leadership, faculty, and students to preserve and further the education of the many displaced Haitian medical students affected by the earthquake disaster.

The project was founded after a number of individuals joined together to recall their experiences in post-earthquake Haiti. They each witnessed, first hand, the physical destruction, endless pounds of rubble, the general atmosphere of chaos, and the daily strife of the Haitian people. They spent their nights under the plastic tents that are home to thousands upon thousands. They saw with their own eyes the hunger and suffering that has stricken an entire population and they witnessed the results of a lack of medical resources and personnel. They spoke to countless individuals, heard the devastating stories, and promised the country and themselves that they would come back to help the Haitian community in any way they could.

Dr. Brian Remillard of Dartmouth College gave a lecture today to McGill University medical students, but there was a twist. In the last hour of the lecture, a web-based video conference, powered by Vidyo, allowed remote participants to take part. The conference brought in Dr. Fenelon and Dr. Daniel Dure, both Partners in Health based Haitian doctors, and Cate Oswald, another representative of Partners in Health, who were all located in Hinge, about four hours away from Port-au-Prince in Haiti. The McGill students were able to hear first-hand accounts of their stories and experiences as medical professionals in Haiti, especially after the devastation of the earthquake. HME