Our Malawi Nurse Training Team Hits The Ground Running

The Physicians for Peace nurse training team is off to a productive, high-energy start in Malawi.

As part of their plan to train 26 nurses in critical-care best practices at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital ("Queens,") the team arrived last week for the in-country portion of their training initiative.

Their objective: to provide advanced critical-care training for the nurses working in Queens’ expanding Intensive Care Unit.

The volunteer education team, all from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professionals, are pictured below. L-R: Jennifer Duran DNP, MS-HPEd, RN; Leah Rothchild RN; and nurse practitioner students Sierra Gage and Nicole Miller, along with Physicians for Peace Volunteer Coordinator Jonathan Waluza.

They spent their first few days in Malawi building strong foundations as they got to know the staff, facilities, and unique dynamics at Queens, where Physicians for Peace is headquartered. "We are having an amazing introduction to everyone and everything!" Leah said. "Everyone is so eager to teach and connect."

"We toured every unit," Jennifer said. "We toured the skills lab, and we also spent some time in the operating rooms and in the ICU, understanding their care and processes. Everyone is very welcoming and seems excited for us to be here, and we are so appreciative.

"We have our teaching planned, and are now adding a few more (topics) based on our observations."

Their next steps include further observation and familiarization of the environment; fine-tuning their nurse training curriculum, and then getting started with the teaching itself. "We are excited to work with such a great group," Leah said.

Training "baby," real learning! Dr. Jennifer Duran (center) tours the skills lab, where medical personnel practice their techniques before moving on to real patients. She's pictured with ICU-Main Theater leader Wezzie Mwafulirwa (left) and Dr. Chimwemwe Mula, a faculty member at Kamuzu College of Nursing (right).

Stay with us as we document this training initiative that will do so much, for so many, so rapidly! Sign up for our mailing list, or connect with Physicians for Peace on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.