Leaning in—this is the common posture we see in every hospital where we work. There are always parents leaning in toward their children, either out of concern or the desire to comfort. But just as often we find ourselves leaning in toward patients, providing the acute care they need. Working beside local teams, we lean in toward each other, sharing crucial techniques and skills.
Every country we work in has different needs. Some heart programmes are young, and training runs the gamut from basic to complex. We work with young surgeons developing skills, cardiologists who don’t have a lot of experience with a wide range heart defects, and nurses who don’t yet have the experience to recognize patient symptoms and needed responses post-surgery. In some countries we focus on making out-of-date procedures current.
During our recent medical trip to Basra, we worked with a local team that is established, efficient, and accustomed to working together. The surgical team are skilled, experienced heart surgeons who have already developed techniques in repairing diseased and damaged adult hearts. What they are now learning are the incredible complexities that come with hearts that didn’t develop in the correct way.
In Basra, we are able to connect the dots for medical professionals who often have book knowledge but lack hands-on practice. We see where gaps in knowledge exist, and are immediately able to teach, coach needed skills, and follow-up with further chances to practice.
They are learning to look at the body’s systems in different ways—learning to assess how much can be corrected without affecting other organs, like the lungs, in negative ways. They need to learn an entirely different approach to the human heart, making repairs to allow it to function as it should, not necessarily to make it look like it should.
Many on our team have worked in Iraq for years. We know the value of training local doctors and nurses, in equipping Iraqis to take care of their own children. We will continue to lean in during 2017. This is the posture that will continue to make a difference, not only for Iraq’s children, but for the country.