Physician sees urgent need to rebuild Iraq's medical infrastructure
Medical care and education in Iraq is slowly but steadily improving. As a population, Iraq is medically underserved with nearly a 100,000 physician need to provide care for its citizens and only approximately 15,000 to 20,000 physicians currently working in Iraq.
Level of care, formal education and training are greatest in the larger urban areas while most of rural Iraq is without sufficient primary, emergency and specialty care or formal educational opportunities. Most of the universities, teaching programs and hospitals are currently working to
rebuild their health system infrastructure and educational capabilities.
There is a large vacuum for current formal medical education, hands-on learning and updated references, text and medical journals. The medical teaching materials donated by OSU-COM Center for Health Sciences, which includes recorded lectures and current practice and guidelines, journals and text books, will greatly improve the professional development of medical students, resident physicians and practicing surgeons and clinicians. Up-to-date and current information, practice and guidelines will enhance the ability of the local physicians to provide quality health care and, ultimately, improve the level of health care provided to Iraq's citizens.
OSU-COM's generous contributions to the Iraqi health-care system play a direct role in the efforts of the Iraqi government, coalition forces and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division to establish and rebuild Iraq's health care infrastructure and improve the health of the population as a whole.
By Capt. Bob Hart, D.O.
Want to help?
The Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Office of Continuing Medical Education is reaching out to medical professionals in Iraq with assistance from the school’s medical library. Cyndi Canning, CME program specialist, said a conversation with Capt. Bob Hart, D.O., a 2004 OSU osteopathic medicine graduate, prompted coordination of efforts to provide journals, texts and other educational materials to Iraqi health care providers. Hart is the Brigade Surgeon for the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division. The OSU CME office has donated three complete sets of video discs to Hart’s efforts. Each set has more than 200 hours of continuing medical education lectures. The CME office also is helping to determine if its new online courses could aid Iraqi clinicians in learning more about current practices. “It is hoped that the materials will help provide up-to-date information about current medical guidelines and practices, aiding professional development and education for Iraq’s health care providers as the nation rebuilds,” said Canning. Canning said donations of current journals, books, and other written materials on all medical subjects are needed and will be distributed to hospitals, teaching programs, clinics and individual health care providers in Iraq. For more information, contact Canning at (918) 586-4615 or (800) 274-1972.
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Features
Three Hillcrest Medical Center volunteers were queen for a day last week as the health system recognized the women – all whom are over age 90 and still actively volunteer at the hospital.
Opal Carlton, left, Eleanor Fitch, center, and Estelle Norvell were honored for their continued dedication to Hillcrest.
”It would be difficult for any organization such as Hillcrest to function without a loyal group of volunteers,” said Hillcrest Chaplain Ron Nofziger. “These three ladies are a real inspiration. They keep serving and giving, and are truly engaged in helping others.”
Guest Columnist
Medical care and education in Iraq is slowly but steadily improving. As a population, Iraq is medically underserved with nearly a 100,000 physician need to provide care for its citizens and only approximately 15,000 to 20,000 physicians currently working in Iraq.
Level of care, formal education and training are greatest in the larger urban areas while most of rural Iraq is without sufficient primary, emergency and specialty care or formal educational opportunities. Most of the universities, teaching programs and hospitals are currently working to
rebuild their health system infrastructure and educational capabilities.
Health & Fitness
As the health-care reform debate rages on and gains emotional steam, more and more emphasis is being put on prevention.
Finally.
This message of prevention hit home a couple of months ago as we were going through some things in my parents’ home in Missouri. There, deep in a closet, was a box containing a worn notebook. Although we were all raised in this home, the box was something neither I nor my siblings had ever seen, but were so glad for its discovery.
Contained in the tablet were the thoughts of my maternal grandmother just after being diagnosed with cancer. She titled the message “The Two Greatest Gifts: Love and Good Health.” Through her writing she admits good health was something she had always taken for granted. After all, she was rarely, if ever, sick as a child – a trend that continued well into adulthood.
Shortly after having her sixth child, however, her world would be turned upside down after the diagnosis. The message was penned over numerous pages, apparently during several months, including the time she underwent radiation to battle the cancer.
I never had the opportunity to know my grandmother as she succumbed to cancer when I was less than 2 years old. But the worn memo pad gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation into who she was.
Click below to read "The Two Greatest Gifts; Love and Good Health."
Job Profile
It’s no surprise that the health-care job market is booming. With the aging population and technology changing the way medicine is performed, new health care jobs are constantly popping up. In each issue of the Tulsa Health Care Journal we take a look at some of the jobs out there, some of which are familiar, some not so. Here we look at the respiratory therapist. Helping us gain a better perspective on this growing field is Jill Tollison, director of respiratory therapy for MeadowBrook Specialty Hospital in Tulsa.
Health Files
The Tulsa State Fair wrapped up this weekend with fewer medical incidents being reported than in the past several years.
According to Tina Wells, EMSA vice president of marketing, paramedics responded to fewer medical incidents this year than they projected.
