As I prepare to talk about the Chitenje Warmer, I’m having to reconcile the work I did with the results I got. The warmer didn’t pan out, and it ended up not being an effective tool. What I’m struggling with is whether that means we reconsider how the device was built or fundamentally shift where we approach the problem of neonatal hypothermia? Do we try and fix something that we’ve built or focus on building a new device?

As a student, failure stings a little, but failure is another opportunity to learn.

“Be resilient.”

-Dr. Leautaud, Rice 360 Internship Interviews

Even though this device doesn’t work, the experiences I had working side-by-side with the nurses and physicians in Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital become no less meaningful on both a personal and educational level. I’ll talk about where the device failed, and I’ll talk about my recommendations for it moving forward. I’ll speak about the tenacity I saw in the operating theater to do right by the patient, and I’ll speak about how ready those nurses were to learn how to use a new device.

As I continue to pursue global health, I know that the road ahead will be filled with successes and failures and that every step will hold a new lesson.