SVU Member to Teach Vascular Ultrasound in Rwanda, Africa

In January, I received an e-mail from Eric Meaders, MS, RDMS, asking for someone to go to Kigali, Rwanda, to teach a short-term sonography education session.

Terry Konn, PHD, RT, is serving the Kigali Health Institute as a Senior Fulbright Scholar teaching Radiological Imaging and helping develop the curriculum for other areas including sonography. Dr. Konn defines my help as, “the Kigali Health Institute through Terry M. Konn, Ph.D., U.S. Fulbright Scholar, ...... has invited you to come to assist the local city hospitals in teaching radiographers about ultrasonographic imaging procedures in an effort to improve medical diagnosis and patient care.......” She says, “There are maybe 12 scanners throughout the country. They are not being utilized, because there is no one trained in most rural districts. In the hospitals that you will go to there are a total of 4 units, I believe. In addition to a radiologist, I only know of 2 technologists that perform limited sonograms.”

With extensive support from my employer, Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome, GA, I rearranged my life and professional appointments to go to Kigali, Rwanda, during May and June 2008. I’ll work with the radiographers at the two main hospitals in Kigali so they can acquire some level of skill in sonography examinations. I’ll spend 3/4ths of the day side by side in the hospital and a couple of hours in the afternoons in lecture. "The idea is to train them well, so they can then train others,” said Dr. Konn.

I asked Dr. Konn about the students purchasing books; “Leif, there are NO books, but the few I brought as a reference. Neither the Institute nor the students can afford to buy any. The cost of one book is equal to about 3 months funding for 1 student. They can barely eat, so a book is not a priority. They have been learning from lecture notes and with the introduction of me - now PowerPoint’s and the Internet. All free. Whatever books you can bring is what they will have. If you can – 4 copies of each would be great, because we can leave 1 copy in the Library, 1 in the Teaching Dept. and 1 at each of the 2 city hospitals as a reference.”

Dr. Konn also writes, “We have a small computer center here and faculty can play CD or DVDs on their computers, but I have never seen a VHS player, so tapes are probably out.” I contacted SVU to see if any educational materials in digital format might be available that I could ship in advance so that we’ll have additional reference materials to use.

Steve Haracznak, SVU Executive Director, wrote, “The SVU Board of Directors is very happy to help you in this noble effort to bring vascular ultrasound education to the people of Rwanda. The SVU will contribute various vascular ultrasound manuals and brochures, vascular ultrasound interpretation case study CDs, SVU shirts and bags, and more for your use in your sonography education effort in Rwanda.”

We are thrilled with the generous SVU contribution and I’m not surprised. My experience with vascular technologists has always been positive. We (vascular technologists) are a very giving/sharing/generous group. Thanks for anything you can send.

Editors’ Note: SVU members who also would like to donate any vascular ultrasound manuals, brochures, or CDs for this vascular ultrasound education effort in Kigali, Rwanda should send them before April 25th to the attention of Leif Penrose at Coosa Valley Technical College, One Maurice Culberson Dr., Rome, GA 30161. The school has agreed to ship any contributions to Rwanda for Leif’s use there.

To follow Leif’s journey in Rwanda in May and June or to find how you can help go to Leif’s online Blog at http://kigalisonography.blogspot.com. Leif has been an SVU member since 2001.