Mission trip to La Habana, Cuba

By Dr. Ronda Alexander, assistant professor of otorhinolaryngology

This March, I had the great opportunity to travel with a mission group to La Habana, Cuba. It was a result of some conversations I shared with my co-fellow over the course of our year together. While at the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery meeting in 2007, Nazaneeen Grant (of Georgetown University Medical Center) took me to the Humanitarian Committee meeting and introduced me. I had been looking for a way to make my professional life even more fulfilling, and this fit the bill. So, with her encouragement, I went to the Academy’s Web site and looked for a trip that I would be able to fit into our busy fellowship year. While political difficulties delayed our journey by 12 months, it was well worth the wait. While I’ve always wanted to visit Cuba, I had no idea of the effect this trip would have on me.

The experience was organized through Resource Exchange International, a non-profit organization founded in 1990 that currently has active programs in 11 countries. Its mission is to “encourage, equip, and empower people in developing nations to strengthen strategic sectors of their countries.” REI works to connect American professionals and their local counterparts in order to facilitate the kinds of relationships that can lead to lasting progress in the host nations. While the organization works with teachers, business leaders, scientists, and others, this was a medical team composed mostly of otolaryngologists.

During our mission to Cuba, we were hosted by the Ministerio de Salud Publica (the Public Health Ministry) and the National Otolaryngology Society. The first night included a kind welcome in the home of a local clergyman who has been working with REI for many years. We reviewed our goals as a team and divided the donations we brought as well as the work of teaching and translating between the two hospitals where we would be having the exchange: Hospital Hermanos Amejeiras and Hospital de General Calixto Garcia.

Upon arriving at the hospital on the first full day of work, I was impressed with the technical skill and enthusiasm for learning displayed by our Cuban counterparts. On previous trips, they had been taught techniques for endoscopic sinus surgery and were eager to share how they had refined their skills. I, however, was mesmerized by the junior resident who was performing a tonsillectomy on a teenage boy under local anesthesia — awake. I think she was surprised that I was so interested in learning from her, and she taught me a technique that I was not able to learn during my own residency. The next day, I lent guidance as we treated two patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis after thyroid surgery performed out in the countryside. Over the remaining days, my Spanish language proficiency meant that I spent a good deal of time facilitating communication between our team and our hosts so that the messages would be clear.

As I talked with patients and translated, the similarities between our situations became clear. Cuban otolaryngologists struggle to provide good care for their patients with limited resources — many of us are familiar with this on a lesser scale. Cuban patients are making tough choices between medical care and family obligations — our urban and rural colleagues here see the pain in their patients’ eyes when we propose expensive treatments to patients with limited resources. While they repeatedly apologized for being a “small third world country,” I was excited by the things that they were able to accomplish with so little.

Some of the best times were in the evenings over dinner when we were able to just relax with our hosts and share our interest in them. Many of them were curious as to why we want to come to their country when we allegedly hate them. This misconception is surprisingly common, and our response was that we genuinely wanted to help them help their people. The professional connections made over patient care were warmed into friendships as the week marched on, and by the time we were ready to leave for our own home soil, I was nervous that I might not be able to leave the island since I was being called a “Guantanamera,” and being mistaken on the street for someone’s cousin or sister.

This trip served to reinforce for me the fact that, worldwide, we are all one people. While our governments may disagree, our open hands were clasped by those of our Cuban brothers and sisters. While they often lack material comfort in their professional and personal lives, I found that our friends certainly possess a richness of spirit and passion for medicine. This renewed the idealism which inspired so many of us to go into medicine in the first place. I plan to return for years to come, and I hope that I can continue to build on the relationships already in place as we seek to minister to the bodies, minds, and souls of the Cuban people. Until then, I hope to be more patient, less wasteful, and more grateful in my own daily walk.

The Inside Scoop is an occasional feature of Scoop that allows faculty, staff, and students to share work and leadership experiences with the Medical School community. This story originally appeared in the Summer 2009 UT ORL Update. Visit the department's Web site to subscribe to UT ORL Update. To contact the Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, call 713.486.5000, or visit them on the Web at www.ut-ent.org or www.texassinus.org.

To submit a story for The Inside Scoop, please e-mail Scoop@uth.tmc.edu.

New Art Wall exhibit slated for Aug. 26

The Medical School Art Wall is planning a new exhibit for the fall, which will be displayed starting Aug. 26.

The show will feature portrait photography by Dr. Joan Bull, professor of internal medicine; photography by Yuan Xing, third-year medical student; watercolors by Patty Browning, administrative assistant in emergency medicine; and collages by Lynne Arnett, chair of the Art Wall Committee.

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston Art Wall is a project of the Beautification Committee, designed to enrich and enhance the learning and work environment. The wall also provides the Medical School family the opportunity to contribute to this effort and showcase their talents.

For more information, or to submit to the Art Wall, e-mail ms.artwall@uth.tmc.edu, or visit the Web site.

Medical School Fact Books are in

The updated Medical School’s general brochure, the Fact Book, is hot off the press. The brochure is available for informational packets and recruiting needs for residents, fellows, students, staff, and faculty.

Please come to the Office of Communications, MSB B.340, to pick up your supply. The brochure also is available online as a PDF.

Committee on the Status of Women kicks off success series

The Committee on the Status of Women presents the brown bag series Career Strategies for Women at UTHSC-H: Success Showcase Series. Attendees will enjoy candid conversations with some of the most successful women on campus and learn how they negotiated the twists and turns in their career paths. Hear their stories and bring your questions.

The first scheduled speaker is Claire Brunson, director of Management Services, Office of Administration at the Medical School. She will share her story, which began 30 years ago as a staff assistant in the Department of Pediatrics, noon–1 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25, in MSB B.500 — the new classroom next to the bookstore.

For more information, contact Hariyadars Pannu at 713.500.6728.

Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Program seeks applicants

The Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Program (FICRS) is seeking applicants for a one-year clinical research training experience. Participants in the program, which is open to all doctoral students in medical and health professions schools, will experience mentored clinical research training at one of 25 top-ranked National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research centers in Africa, Asia, South America, or the Caribbean.

The program is sponsored by the NIH Fogarty International Center, in partnership with 15 other NIH institutes, centers, and offices, and is administered by the FICRS-F Support Center at Vanderbilt University, the AAMC, and the Association of Schools of Public Health. Applications are due Dec. 3.

For more information, visit the AAMC Web site or e-mail fic-fellowship@aamc.org.

— AAMC

2009 White Coat ceremony

The entering class took their initial steps as medical students during the White Coat ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 12 at the Stude Concert Hall in the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
— Dwight Andrews, Office of Communications, Medical School