Today is day 4 of obstetric ultrasound training and I am sitting under a huge mango tree during our lunch time. There are chickens walking by at this rural health clinic. It took us over an hour to get here over mostly dirt roads. The sun has been out all day and the temperature has gotten into the mid-90’s.
When we are scanning, there are 5 of us all in a very small room: the pregnant mother, the 2 trainees, the teaching ultrasonographer and myself. Outside of our room, 5 pregnant mothers are mostly lying on the floor waiting their turn to have an ultrasound scan. The heat of the day has caused many of the patients to begin to wilt so they are trying to rest and stay somewhat cool.
Our 2 midwife trainees show an amazing capacity to keep on working and maintaining intense concentration given the trying conditions. Obstetric ultrasound is a skill that is very challenging to acquire and seeing the midwives jump right in and wanting to learn everything they can is truly inspiring.
Maneuvering the probe with one hand is a skill all its own. Knowing when and how much to angle, slide, rock or rotate the probe to get the correct view and image while looking at and adjusting the tablet screen with your other hand is not easy. After just a couple of days of scanning they are now easily identifying crucial landmarks and structures.
There have been mostly healthy babies seen on the scans but there have been medical conditions that have been identified that require close follow up or urgent treatment. It is already obvious that the introduction of obstetric ultrasound will have a huge impact on this community. Given the commitment of our trainees, I feel very confident that their skills will continue to improve as they help the people they serve.
Well on Their Way Team Conducting Ultrasound Training