Eye Training at Tenwek

One of the visions that God has refined for the McCropders during our time at Tenwek has been the priority of training nationals in the medical field.  Jason, Eric, & Rachel have all been extensively involved in the internship and residency (general surgery & family practice) programs at Tenwek, both administratively and clinically.  Slowly by slowly (as they say in Kenya) I have tried to follow suit in the eye department.  In just the last few months, many of these efforts have started to come together.

1)  Dr. Orlando, a Kenyan ophthalmologist who works at a sister eye hospital, has started to come every week to receive training in phacoemulsification (the cataract technique most often used in the States, but very little in Africa because of the expensive equipment).  He is coming because a phaco machine was purchased for his hospital, but the company will not set it up because no one is trained how to use it yet.  Good news -- the company is now willing to make the machine operational.

2)  In June, we started the 3-month "Ophthalmic Skills Upgrading Course" at Tenwek for nurses and clinical officers who want to increase their knowledge and clinical skills in ophthalmology.  David Sawe, our ophthalmic clinical officer, has taken responsibility for the course.  Our first class consists of 3 Tenwek employees.  We hope to expand the next class to include others outside of Tenwek.

3)  This past weekend, Tenwek hosted its first annual professional development course for eye care providers in the region.  Our focus this year was on "Improving Surgical Outcomes".  We were delighted to host over 25 participants from neighboring eye units.

Wilson Kerich, the Tenwek ophthalmic technician, teaching students manual keratometry (eye measurements taken prior to surgery to ensure good visual outcomes)

Dr. Ben Roberts (retina specialist and Tenwek's long-term ophthalmologist who recently returned from home assignment in the USA - yippee!!) teaching a group of students how to do A-scan ultrasound of the eye and intra-ocular lens selection prior to cataract surgery

All of the participants crammed into our surgical theatre to watch 3 live demonstrations on the "big screen" (see the eyeball projected on the upper, left wall ) about MSICS (a particular cataract technique that was discussed in lecture earlier in the day) 

It's exciting to finally be part of the education process!  Our goal is to eventually "work ourselves out of a job" by training national medical doctors and other staff so that they can provide quality and compassionate care in the name of Jesus to their own people.  We are also blessed to learn many things from our African colleagues.