Advancing Global Knowledge About Anesthesia and Critical Care
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By Kiera Gwynn, Eugene Bland, Vijay Srinivasan, MD, Marissa Olson
The Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is one of many departments at CHOP dedicated to advancing Global Pediatric Education through hosting and exchanging knowledge with international clinicians worldwide. The Pediatric Anesthesia, Cardiac Intensive Care, and Pediatric Intensive Care programs have hosted more than 110 observers over the past decade – even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our department lead, Vijay Srinivasan, MD, and department coordinator, Eugene Bland, expressed how much they love hosting people from across the world. While at CHOP, observers follow clinical teams on rounds and actively participate in educational conferences and lectures.
Learning from each other
In addition to experiencing the nuances and challenges of clinical management, visitors also gain insights into the structure and organization of clinical care, quality improvement and teamwork at CHOP. They frequently praise the careful attention to detail and patient care at CHOP.
Observers who spend time in the operating rooms (ORs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are inspired to bring their experiences and knowledge back to their home countries and implement changes in their local practice. Observers are often impressed by the organization of the OR and Pediatric ICU (PICU), the enhanced role that nurses play, and the excellent collaboration and communication among team members.
Dr. Srinivasan and Bland emphasized how much their department learns from the observers they host. Observers eagerly share experiences from their home countries, which enables members of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine team to appreciate different approaches to clinical care and education.
Expanded programming, newer tools
From discussions and feedback from observers, the department has also made improvements to its program, including creating a new observership in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) that spans multiple ICUs (including the PICU, cardiac ICU [CICU], and newborn/infant ICU [N/IICU].
In addition to hosting international observers, faculty from Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine actively engage in educational, research, and quality improvement collaborations between faculty and fellows/resident trainees in many countries and regions, such as China, India, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Kiera Gwynn is a program coordinator II with the Department of Global Medicine; Eugene Bland is a program coordinator I with Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine; and Vijay Srinivasan, MD, is an attending physician in the Division of Critical Care Medicine, all at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.