Throughout the day, we noticed that a number of our trainees took it upon themselves to go out to the waiting area to educate the women on cervical cancer prevention. It was clear that the women of this community were wholly unaware of the great risk posed to them by this preventable disease. A majority had never had a pelvic exam before, and were quite skeptical upon seeing a vaginal specula for the first time. Many believed that we were going to administer an injection of some sort. With patience and a gentle touch, our trainees easily put any nervousness to rest, and we had a successful day of “See and Treat” with a positivity rate of 10%.Day 2 in Tanzania took us to Buzuruga Medical Center, just outside of the bustling town of Mwanza. This medical center already has a successful mother/baby wellness clinic, but cervical cancer screening is a vital part of women’s healthcare that was lacking. We are thankful to our new partners from UC Irvine for recognizing the need here, and calling on us to bring these essental services to the community.
We arrived early, and walked our 11 new trainees through the process of quickly and efficiently setting up their stations, as well as properly assembling their cryotherapy units and CO2 tanks.
As the women began to fill the clinic’s waiting area, or new friends (Physician Assistant Tara, and her students Jessica and Tasha) from St. Catherine University in Minnesota took charge of the registration process, allowing our team to focus on our trainees, and ensuring that they felt supported through every step of learning this new skill.
Throughout the day, we noticed that a number of our trainees took it upon themselves to go out to the waiting area to educate the women on cervical cancer prevention. It was clear that the women of this community were wholly unaware of the great risk posed to them by this preventable disease. A majority had never had a pelvic exam before, and were quite skeptical upon seeing a vaginal specula for the first time. Many believed that we were going to administer an injection of some sort. With patience and a gentle touch, our trainees easily put any nervousness to rest, and we had a successful day of “See and Treat” with a positivity rate of 10%.
Throughout the day, we noticed that a number of our trainees took it upon themselves to go out to the waiting area to educate the women on cervical cancer prevention. It was clear that the women of this community were wholly unaware of the great risk posed to them by this preventable disease. A majority had never had a pelvic exam before, and were quite skeptical upon seeing a vaginal specula for the first time. Many believed that we were going to administer an injection of some sort. With patience and a gentle touch, our trainees easily put any nervousness to rest, and we had a successful day of “See and Treat” with a positivity rate of 10%.