Botswana Elective for Residents and Fellows

Anesthesia/Critical Care Elective

This is a four-week (or longer) elective at Scottish Livingstone Hospital (SLH) in Molepolole, Botswana under the supervision of BIDMC Faculty Anesthesiologist, Dr. Edward Clune. Dr. Clune is the Director of Anesthesia and Critical Care at SLH and the Program Director for the Anesthesia and Critical Care resident and fellowship rotations there.

This elective is available to senior residents in their CA-3/PGY-4 year and to Critical Care Fellows. The experience of practicing medicine in a resource-challenged country is invaluable to the development of the young clinician and often life changing. Residents and fellows will have the opportunity to use their skills as educators and clinicians to augment the practice of anesthesia and critical care in Botswana. Emphasis is placed on developing clinical skills and resource utilization in a limited setting. Trainees will learn about perioperative patient care and the management of general anesthesia, regional anesthesia and sedation in a resource-poor setting. Participants will often be caring for patients presenting with advanced pathology of disease not often seen in their home training institutions, both in the ICU as well as in the operating theaters.

This experience can serve as an opportunity for participants at the end of their training to realize the knowledge and capabilities they've developed over many years. Rotators gain confidence in their skills and decision-making abilities in an environment where clinical assessment, flexibility, communication and teamwork are crucial to success.

How To Apply

Interested residents and fellows should email Dr. Edward Clune and include their CV and letter of interest.

Learning Objectives

To develop an understanding of the role of anesthesia, critical care and surgery in global public health.
To appreciate the burden of surgical disease in a middle-income country including the absence of essential infrastructure for the provision of safe anesthesia.
To refine the clinical skills required for providing anesthesia and critical care in austere and remote settings where technology and other resources are limited.
To provide patient care that is compassionate, ethical, appropriate and effective for low- and middle-income countries.
To make a lasting contribution to anesthesia care and knowledge in one of three ways: Undertake a QI project to help remedy any one of the myriad barriers to care in which patients in Botswana experience; to contribute to the international literature through a mentored research project pertaining to the global burden of surgical disease and/or the global anesthesia crisis; or to expand knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to the safe practice of anesthesia in austere and remote settings.

What To Expect