NOMMS News

One of the priorities for NOMMS is during our missions is the process of knowledge exchange with our partners in-country. On Wednesday I spoke with Dr. Dauterive, & Head Nurse Joan about their experiences with this, after witnessing one of their morning surgeries, a laparoscopic gallbladder removal. Dr. Dauterive said that when he is able to share something from his experience with the doctors here in Nicaragua that can really help them with their work long after we’re gone, it is one of the most rewarding parts of the mission for him. These “teaching moments” can help broaden the knowledge base of the Nicaraguan doctors and lead to more effective treatments and procedures for their patients.

On Wednesday, Dr. Dauterive and his team performed three complete surgeries, a laparoscopic gallbladder removal for a 61 year-old woman, and two hernias (for 50 year-old and 21 year-old women), and assisted Dr. Colon with an ovarian cyst removal (for a 41 year-old woman). Alongside the NOMMS team in these procedures were local Nicaraguan doctors from the hospital here in Matagalpa: Dr. Sandival, Dr. Darmas, and Dr. Argueta.

One of the many benefits of this mission in particular is the utilization of laparoscopic methods. The hospital has had a laparoscopic machine for about two years, thanks to some grant money they received, but it is only used for a relatively small number of procedures, maybe four or five times per week. Dr. Dauterive and his team are able to impart useful experience with this type of procedure to the Matagalpan doctors, showing them potential pitfalls in routine procedures such as abnormal anatomy, and discussing different ways of doing things that may be outside their sphere of experience here; by taking advantage of these “teaching moments” Dr. Dauterive is able to help the doctors here develop greater efficiency in their procedures and more effectively utilize the technologies at their disposal, such as the laparoscopic machine, which could ultimately result in less invasive procedures for the patients here and shorter recovery times as well.

But the learning process isn’t just one-way. Dr. Dauterive emphasized that every time he visits another country on a mission, he learns something from the local doctors that helps him improve his practices as well. It’s truly a process of knowledge exchange.