title: Necessity and benefits of physician assistants' participation in international clinical experiences.
abstract: Several consultation stations have been set up in an unfinished stone building. My team is made up of a Kenyan physician assistant (called clinical officer), a Kenyan medical student, and me, a US physician assistant student. We are huddled around a small worn-out square table. A middle-aged woman and her two children, ages 2 and 6, approach the table. They have traveled 2 miles to the medical camp. The children, covered in dust, are emaciated with protruding abdomens, dry skin, and congested noses. The clinical officer (CO) conducts a brief interview in Swahili, the Kenyan national language. The mother explains that they have been coughing up thick yellow sputum for a week and have no appetite. They've also had diarrhea for a couple of weeks. I examine the children, who are obviously scared. Hot, moist skin. They are both running a fever. I listen to the lungs: reduced lung sounds. The protruding abdomens are rock hard. I report the findings to the team. The CO turns to the Kenyan medical student and me and quizzes us on differential diagnoses with rationale for each. We come up with malaria, pneumonia, TB, and worm infestation. Due to limited resources, medical diagnosis in Kenya relies heavily on history and physical exam. The CO explains that comorbid conditions are probable. Luckily, we have malaria-testing kits at the camp. They test negative for malaria. We decide to treat them for pneumonia. We also offer them a free hot meal, toothbrushes, T-shirts, coloring paper, and crayons. The children manage to smile. The mother is so grateful, she cries.
authors: lucykibe@gmail.com
authors: Lucy Wachera
authors: LW
authors: Kibe
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D054521:Cultural Competency / Q000193:education*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007630:Kenya; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000193:education*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D019035:Rural Health Services; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce