Doctors Share COVID-19 Knowledge
Physicians from AMPATH’s North American consortium member schools eagerly responded to a request from faculty members at Moi University to present a series of lectures about the clinical care of COVID-19 patients for health care workers at Moi University and MTRH.
“Many of the physicians across the AMPATH consortium now have a lot of experience treating patients with COVID-19,” said AMPATH Medicine Team Leader Caitrin Kelly. “Our colleagues, Dr. Mercy Karoney and Dr. Shamim Ali from the Moi University Department of Medicine had the idea to create a COVID-19 lecture series to share that experience with faculty at Moi University, where the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving a few months behind the pandemic in the U.S. and clinicians are now starting to care for more COVID patients. It was wonderful to see so many faculty across different AMPATH institutions and departments so willing to participate in this lecture series and share their expertise,” Kelly said.
In addition, Dr. Kirtika Patel in the Moi University Department of Pathology initiated a COVID lecture series that is now being delivered in collaboration with the Department of Medicine, with each department leading a different topic every other week.
“As the number of COVID-19 cases were increasing in Kenya and there being several international debates on treatment options, Mercy and I thought that a lecture series would be beneficial for front line physicians at MTRH to ensure that patients diagnosed with COVID-19 received evidence-based and quality care,” said Dr. Ali. “We are very thankful that the AMPATH consortium quickly arranged and worked with us to provide the much-needed lectures which have been greatly beneficial so far.”
“This novel virus has generated a lot of research and we still are learning new things about it every day,” said Dr. Patel. “I thought a lecture series understanding the diagnosis and immune response to the virus would benefit the researchers and postgraduate students. It has been a great forum so far bringing physicians and researchers together. As the world is watching how the various countries are responding to the pandemic an important question has arisen - what can we learn from Africa?,” she added.
Faculty members from several AMPATH Consortium partners as well as other international collaborators have created lectures for the training series that have averaged approximately 70 participants each week. Topics covered or planned include: clinical management of COVID-19 patients; neurological, cardiovascular and other complications; PCR, antigen and serology testing; infection prevention and control; radiographic features; COVID-19 and diabetes; palliative care and therapy and vaccine trials.
“These sessions have been very useful in highlighting the importance of the partnership with the consortium and how we can all learn from each other,” said Dr. Karoney. “It has also strengthened interdepartmental relationships since we have had sessions that cut across all specialties.”
Participants in the lecture series have expanded to include surgery, anesthesia and pediatrics. The series will continue at least through late November.
COVID-19 graphics inspired and conceived by youth at the Rafiki Centre for Excellence in Adolescent Health and created by the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
