Thank you for stopping by. We are just about to embark on our journey - Mike and Kiley left Vancouver this morning, and Eda, Marion and myself (Renee) leave tomorrow. We are very excited to get to Nepal and meet the PAHS students and faculty!
We'll keep you in the loop during our travels, but for now, here is a little bit about our project:
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We'll keep you in the loop during our travels, but for now, here is a little bit about our project:
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The Republic of Nepal and its people have endured significant hardship over the last thirty years. A decade-long civil war was, in part, a result of the disparity of the health status between those living in urban and rural areas. The reality of the health care disparity between urban and rural Nepal is abundantly clear: a two-decade difference in life expectancy (the life expectancy is 37 in some remote regions) and a thirty-three fold difference in physicians per capita. While health professional availability is only one part of the disparity, it is a critical one.
But the Nepali people have shown a remarkable resilience and have undertaken innovative political, social, educational, and health-related endeavours that serve as beacons of hope to other beleaguered nations. One such homegrown initiative is the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), a university designed from the ground up on the principles of social accountability, admitted its first cohort of medical students in June 2010. PAHS aims to improve the health of Nepalese by producing doctors who are willing and able to provide health care to disadvantaged people living in remote or rural areas. (Learn more about PAHS here: http://www.pahs.edu.np/ )
With the help of our advisors (especially Dr. Carol-Ann Courneya, Dr. Robert Woollard, and Dr. Jane Gair), our group is conducting a pilot project this summer, where we will collaborate with PAHS students to identify opportunities for learning exchange in Kathmandu, Nepal. Along with our Nepalese counterparts, we hope to better understand health care in each country, share knowledge on medical subjects, improve language and communication stills, and participate in research initiatives.
So far we have:
1. ...raised money (with the help of our incredibly generous friends and family members!) to buy these students textbooks and equipment they need,
2. ...planned several basic sciences, blood & lymphatics, and cardiology tutorial sessions,
3. ...written problem-based learning modules to help students in their cardiology block,
4. ... and become incredibly excited about meeting and working with the PAHS students!
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We promise to periodically keep you posted on all of our adventures with stories and snapshots. Be sure to check in and say hello every so often as even though we'll be having a fabulous time, we'll definitely miss our friends and family back home in North America! But the Nepali people have shown a remarkable resilience and have undertaken innovative political, social, educational, and health-related endeavours that serve as beacons of hope to other beleaguered nations. One such homegrown initiative is the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), a university designed from the ground up on the principles of social accountability, admitted its first cohort of medical students in June 2010. PAHS aims to improve the health of Nepalese by producing doctors who are willing and able to provide health care to disadvantaged people living in remote or rural areas. (Learn more about PAHS here: http://www.pahs.edu.np/ )
With the help of our advisors (especially Dr. Carol-Ann Courneya, Dr. Robert Woollard, and Dr. Jane Gair), our group is conducting a pilot project this summer, where we will collaborate with PAHS students to identify opportunities for learning exchange in Kathmandu, Nepal. Along with our Nepalese counterparts, we hope to better understand health care in each country, share knowledge on medical subjects, improve language and communication stills, and participate in research initiatives.
So far we have:
1. ...raised money (with the help of our incredibly generous friends and family members!) to buy these students textbooks and equipment they need,
2. ...planned several basic sciences, blood & lymphatics, and cardiology tutorial sessions,
3. ...written problem-based learning modules to help students in their cardiology block,
4. ... and become incredibly excited about meeting and working with the PAHS students!
__________________________________
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