Jennifer Kim, MD: UC San Diego Anesthesia Fellow

Rwanda: February 2020

 I had the privilege to travel to Kigali, Rwanda in February 2020 to help provide regional anesthesia for Rwandan patients and teach the University of Rwanda anesthesiology residents regional anesthesia so that they can continue to utilize this invaluable technique in the future. The anesthesiology residents were eager and grateful for the opportunity to learn how to perform nerve blocks to better care for their patients despite their limited resources. While it was initially jarring to see the limited resources of the University Central Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), the residents were motivated to learn at every opportunity.

 As a regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine fellow, I was able to provide education to the residents both in and out of the clinical setting. During the resident’s didactic day, I lectured the residents on regional anesthesiology as well as provided hands-on experience with scanning live models and practicing in-plane technique with phantom gel models. In the perioperative setting, most of the blocks were done for orthopedic trauma patients, as well as elective orthopedic procedures, mainly focusing on teaching and performing brachial plexus, femoral and sciatic nerve blocks. There were also a number of pediatric orthopedic cases we were able to provide regional anesthesia for.

 It was an honor and privilege to work with the anesthesiology residents at the University of Rwanda and gave me a deeper appreciation for the resources and education that I receive and the importance of sharing these to those who eagerly and genuinely want to provide better care for their patients in a low resource setting.

 Thank you again for your support!