The inaugural undergraduate senior clerkship in anaesthesia and critical care was held at the University of Global Health Equity Medical School (UGHE), a recently established medical school in Butaro, Rwanda, from January 30 to April 6, 2023. Faculty from Weill Cornell Medicine Anesthesiology were instrumental in developing and delivering the curriculum in collaboration with clinicians and educators from the University of Rwanda, the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, and Partners in Health.
Dr. Sheida Tabaie, an assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology, was a consultant involved in the development of the clerkship curriculum. She participated in the Delphi process – a structured method used to develop consensus amongst a panel of experts - to identify the aims and objectives of the curriculum, topics and skills to be taught, and the most appropriate means of delivery. She was also involved in the creation of the didactic portion of the curriculum and led a live case report session for the medial students via Zoom.
“Using the Delphi process to narrow down the topics to be covered was illuminating,” said Dr. Tabaie, who was previously a Global Health Fellow in the Department of Anesthesiology. “Both Rwandan and non-Rwandan anesthesiologists participated in the Delphi process, and the results highlighted the unique priorities of different healthcare systems.”
Drs. Margo Hoyler and Ankur Srivastava, assistant professors of clinical anesthesiology, delivered pre-recorded lectures on critical care topics to the thirty enrolled students.
Next year, CA3 resident Dr. Ryan Ference will travel to Rwanda along with Dr. Tabaie to participate in the department’s global health elective.