During this two-week guest play as a blogger, I have provided a patchwork of science, statistics, reports from the field and a lot of my personal experiences and opinions. It has been a relief to vent some of them and I am positively surprised by the responses here and elsewhere. Let us see if there will be any unforeseen repercussions…
One aim of the blog was to clarify the riddle-like heading of the first blog post: ”Surgery and mosquito mesh in Uganda – the pearl of Africa”. I think that has been accomplished. Global surgery is an under-prioritised field in global health and research, but it is on the rise! It seems, a mosquito mesh can be used instead of a commercial mesh in groin hernia repair in adult males under controlled conditions. This has potential to benefit the many millions of the World’s poorest needing groin hernia surgery. Uganda, the pearl of Africa, faces many challenges but has great potential.
Another aim was to give an idea of the context in which the field of global surgery exists and also the context of my PhD projects in Uganda. As a PhD student, I felt that something should be said about PhD studies too. I consider myself very lucky with both the research field, my projects, the associated life style and my supervisors. It takes a lot of effort and time but there are no short cuts to progress. No pain, no gain. Again, i would like to stress that all prospective PhD students choose projects and supervisors with care!
One of the blog posts has gotten me into discussions. It is possible that I push these discussions quite a lot myself. I ask many questions but without them, there will be no answers. I am not sure if I am much wiser now than before, but have, for now, come to the conclusion that in medicine, aid and volunteering, the thought is not enough. The outcome is equally important. Global community and collaboration is key. Primum non nocere (first do no harm) is central in medicine but could be applied to other activities too. Assessing potential negative side effects requires skills, knowledge and collaboration. A good intention and the right person/initiative/project in the right place at the right time increases the likelihood of beneficial outcomes for all parties.
Ending one adventure but preparing for the next.
What next? I am approaching the end of my last PhD project. Currently, the one year follow up rate in the mosquito mesh study is 72%. Another week, and I think we are done. The implementation phase is in planning stage and the first contacts with relevant authorities in Uganda have been made. The research group has several studies in the pipe-line. We will move on to groin hernia in children and women and two Ugandan surgeons will take my place as PhD students. I have ideas to expand the scope of interest and am positive that I can keep busy during the remaining decades of my research career. It is also about time that I get on with my clinical training…
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” (Churchill)
With this, I would like to thank everyone for their attention and challenge anyone interested to take the first step!
Jenny
