Inspire Through Clinical Teaching – Uganda January 2020

Course facilitators (from left to right): Dr. Frankie Powell (USA), Dr. John Paul Ochieng (Uganda), Dr. Dean Nolte (South Africa), Dr. Christine Namata (Uganda), Dr. Naomi Shamambo (Zambia), Dr. Sonia Akrimi (UK)

The Inspire Through Clinical Teaching course was held for the second time in Uganda this past January at the New Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital in Kampala. The course facilitators included several who were present at the inaugural Ugandan Inspire course in January 2019: Dr. John Paul Ochieng (Anaesthesiologist, Uganda), Dr. Christine Namata (Anaesthesiologist, Uganda), Dr. Dean Nolte (Anaesthesiologist, South Africa), and Dr. Frankie Powell (Anaesthesiologist, USA). They were joined by Dr. Sonia Akrimi (Anaesthesiologist, UK) and Dr. Naomi Shamambo (Anaesthesiologist, Zambia), who are certainly no strangers to Inspire themselves. Dr. Ochieng served as the course director and did a fantastic job organizing everything and making sure everything was in order for the course.

Prior to welcoming our participants, we held a Training of Trainers session for the facilitators in which we honed our own skills in lesson planning, teaching, and feedback. The following day, we were met by an enthusiastic group  of participants made up of registrars, nurses, and a pharmacist. Throughout the course, the group were very engaged and actively participated in all aspect.

Participants carrying out a simulation

In particular, this group were defined by their adaptability. We unexpectedly had to switch to a new classroom partway through the course, but the participants didn’t bat an eye and carried on just as strong. Also, when we were not able to utilize the simulation lab, they helped us turn our classroom into our own lab, and they created and ran some excellent simulation scenarios.

Participants planning a small group presentation

Finally, at the end of a successful course, eleven participants were awarded certificates of completion after we heard their large and small group presentations.

Participants and facilitators after the certificate ceremony

I would like to thank several people for making this Inspire course a truly excellent experience. First, to our course director, Dr. Ochieng, for his strong work and dedication. Also, to my fellow facilitators for being an energetic group who were easy to work with and who helped me grow as an educator. Next, thank you to the Association of Anesthestiologists of Uganda and the New Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital for hosting us and providing us with the space to hold the course. And of course, a very big thank you to our participants for their hard work and their willingness to expand their skills as clinical educators.