Our 15 minutes...hopefully a foot in the door for a lifetime

 

We came with a plan. A pilot training session that was organized by contacts who are from other departments of the hospital but who are close friends of my family (special thanks to Tablu uncle and Sheuli aunty). Their persistence and ability to help make tangible something that started as an idea on paper was nothing short of spectacular. Along with the persistence of my parents, and my father especially who tapped on the shoulder of anyone he thought would be interested in such an initiative. And then certainly I cannot leave out our trusted advisor and fathers best friend the colonel(Salam uncle) and his wife Rekha aunty who have watched over us ever so diligently. This team created reality from a dream and I am eternally thankful but they also did something else. They helped us lay roots for the rest of our journey, they drew the attention of the media (newspaper clips above) and of the honorable Secretary of the Minister of health so as to allow such a training program to become formalized. We are moving in the right direction and now must start to build a lasting relationship with those in country who are eager to further along our goal. Future endeavors include more basic as well as advanced ultrasound training, advanced airway management, code training and ACLS training if needed, ventilator management and curriculum building for upcoming critical care learners, the list could go on. 

An update on yet another success story--this image was acquired by one of our trainers-in-training who had a patient with unilateral lower extremity swelling and he diagnosed a blood clot. I get the feeling that teachers have now when the hard work they put into their students pays off. It's a reward that's not really describable. 

 

It is also the last day that Syeda will be with us and here she is being presented a plaque from our team of critical care doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.  We have been deep in brainstorming our future activities and are eager to plan our next trip hopefully with many more skilled trainers coming with us (open invitation!!) .

 

But our goal is bigger than just furthering the education of those in the critical care department or emergency room, it is to hopefully show other second generation Bangladeshis that they too can find something they are passionate about as well and pursue it. You don't have to be in the medical field to give back, you just have to find the path that inspires you.