Preparing for Malawi, one list at a time

Greetings from Chicago! Right now it’s a rainy 45 degrees Fahrenheit- who would guess that this time next week, I’ll be finishing off my first week in Malawi?

I’m celebrated my little brother’s graduation this weekend (shout out to Gregor, the kindest and smartest kid I know); I know it’s cheesy, but I’m getting a bit nostalgic and thinking back on the hopes I had in high school for what my future would hold. The BTB internship program was one of the key factors that drove me to consider Rice, and having the opportunity to participate in this experience is completely surreal! I was hoping to use this post to say a little bit about my motives for participating in this program, but I think that a combination of binge-watching the Walking Dead and a deep-dish pizza coma are making it difficult to be articulate. Do you know what I am still good at?

Making lists.

The past month or so has been chock full of lists: parts lists for our medical devices, Chichewa words I need to cram in my brain, packing lists. So it seemed only natural to add one more list: the things that most excite and concern me going into this experience. I assure you, my posts will get shorter and more picture-heavy once I’m on the ground in Namitete. But for now, without further ado:

The good stuff (abridged for your benefit, otherwise this would be a novella)

Flexibility: St. Gabriel’s Hospital has given us some idea that we may be working on Morphine Tracker (more on that later), and BTB has given us an amazing assortment of student-designed technologies to present to clinicians at the hospital. But in general, the internship will largely be what we make of it. And I love that! I’m thrilled at the range of opportunities I have to make a contribution in a way that both meets the community’s needs and utilizes my skills.
Distinctiveness: I’m sure I’ll be able to speak in tomes to this once I get there, but the impression I get is that there is a HUGE contrast between St. Gabriel’s and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (where several of the other BTB interns are working). Located in a major city, Queens is Malawi’s premiere teaching hospital (1). In contrast, St. Gabe’s is a small, privately run hospital in a rural area. It will be fascinating to compare the two: Which medical problems are most pressing? What personnel structures exist at each hospital? What is the role of various technologies? What are the predominant cultural influences on treatment and physician-patient relationships? Stay tuned and take a look at the Blantyre interns’ blogs to learn more.

Perspective: I firmly believe that the greatest resource we will explore during this internship is the wisdom the people we meet along the way. Getting feedback on BTB’s student designs is one of the aspects of the program I’m most excited for; my GLHT 360 design project, the bCPAP heater will be getting some attention, which is an immense privilege. Malawian clinicians’ input will be an invaluable contribution to making these devices viable solutions for low-resource settings! I’m also looking forward to developing relationships with people in the village, as well as my awesome fellow intern Nkechi (check out her blog as well).

The stuff that’s keeping me awake at night (for now)

Flexibility: The same element that gives this experience so much potential could easily blow up in our faces. I know that coming in with fewer concrete plans means that it will be up to me to reach out, ask questions, and speak up. I hope I’m ready for the challenge.
Programming: This is oddly specific, but one of our tasks is to take a look at Morphine Tracker, a student-created database that records morphine use in St. Gabe’s palliative care unit. It’s a cool project with incredible potential, but my lack of coding background has me a bit wary. Like everything else in this process, however, I am ready and eager to learn!
Assumptions: One of my greatest strengths coming into the process is that I have 4 summers-worth of experience in Haiti. It is a place that holds a large portion of my heart, but it’s also a connection that makes me wary of my perspective on Malawi. I don’t want to assume that Malawi and Haiti somehow get lumped together in this giant nebulous label of ‘the developing world’ (2), (3); although I am privileged to have the opportunity to draw comparisons between the two, I hope to take more away from this internship than a giant Venn diagram of Haiti and Malawi. *Disclaimer: I’m still not ruling out the possibility that I’ll post a chart at some point.

One of the respiratory rate timers, a device that we're getting feedback on at St. Gabe's. — One of the respiratory rate timers, a device that we’re getting feedback on at St. Gabe’s.

Well, I hope this hasn’t been too lengthy or introspective. I’m hoping to write up a summary of our student technologies in the near future, but the internet situation will be quite the adventure in the next few days, so we’ll see. For now, feel free to reach out to me with questions or comments at ryw2@rice.edu.