Capacity Building

Overview

Since inception, the HYC has sought to help build local clinical and research capacity in locations where we work with long standing strategic partners.  This has included a variety of mechanisms of support including: 

  • Hosting trainees and faculty from our collaborating partner institutions at Duke,
  • Construction of an inpatient cardiac care unit,
  • Purchasing equipment that contributes to both research and clinical initiatives,
  • Arranging for supply donations from other collaborators,
  • Establishing local training programs, ranging from one time workshops to more formalized fellowship training programs,
  • Conducting on line mentored research training, and
  • Conducting health screening activities.

Capacity building activities are dependent upon faculty engagement, the generosity of our donors and successful acquisition of external funding.

International Trainees

One of our core values is developing bi-directional exchanges and opportunities for individuals from our global partner site institutions. In this spirit, the HYC hosts medical students, residents, fellows and faculty each year. These trainees participate in clinical observership and research rotations at Duke ranging in length from four weeks to one year, and encourage long term collaboration. To date, HYC has hosted ~ 200 trainees at Duke and provided a six month online mentored research training certificate for ~50 trainees.


Trainee Reflections

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Daphne Were and Jeremy Lishenga – Fall 2022

Medical Students from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

“This opportunity made me realize that I have many opportunities [for my] residency, and I started to think outside the box on ways to explore beyond my boundaries. This made me envision being a better doctor to my patients, communicating with them, having more time with them. It changed my whole approach to patient care.” — Daphne Were (left)

“I have seen Duke bring all hands on deck from different departments to solve difficult conditions…all with the goal of giving the patient the best care. I got to see therapies and conditions that I would have only seen on TV! I was able to see how a balloon pump works, as well as a cardiac catheterization procedure, and I savored every minute of it. ” — Jeremy Lishenga (right)

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Chris Mwaniki – Fall 2019

Medical Officer from Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya

“I will remember the level of empathy expressed by the ward team towards their difficult-to-treat patients as well as the collegiality of the teams. I learned about managing different conditions in the medical wards, and how to prioritize and follow up on in patient care. I will carry this with me into my own practice.” — Chris Mwaniki (left)

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Ruby Mudenyo and Brian Aberi – Summer 2019

Medical Students from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

“This rotation has given me exposure to healthcare levels I had never dreamt of being a part of which motivates me to do more for my country… All the supervisors I had the opportunity to interact with were very helpful, always encouraged me to ask questions and engage in discussions. This led to me gaining so much more in terms of knowledge and experience and made my rotations even more enjoyable.” — Ruby Mudenyo (left)

“The experience exposed me to a more diverse society. This was an eye-opener to evidence-based practice, and my practice will be guided more by existing evidence than tradition.The pathology rotation was remarkable; the entire week had a different learning point spanning from the lab to the histology observation.” — Brian Aberi (right)

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Tanyamon Kittidumkerng – Spring 2018

Medical Student from Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand

“At Duke University Hospital, I had a chance to be a part of the team: observing the counseling session and discharging process. The team took time with each patient, let them ask questions and explained the situation he or she had to get through. Moreover, each patient always has a role in making decisions on their own. I would like to make this happen in my workplace back in Thailand.”
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Johana Delgado Aráuz – Fall 2017

Medical Student from HEODRA, UNAN-Leon in Leon, Nicaragua

“Personally I think this has been one of the best experiences in my life. It makes want to be a better doctor, help my Leon community in Nicaragua, and use all the knowledge and the experience learned in the Duke hospital with the patients in Nicaragua. Professionally, it makes me want to work harder and try to go forward for all my academics goals.”

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Benson Njuguna – Winter 2016

Pharmacist from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya

“It was inspiring and challenging to see the clinical pharmacists at Duke perform at a really high level consistently. They seemed to have a solid grasp of the medical literature, they think through how these apply to their patients, they commit time to teach their students and they have cultivated incredible working relationships with the nursing team and the physicians. They really have given me a new height to try and reach.” 

Ana Carolina D’Ettorres Coelho - Fall 2015

Ana Carolina D’Ettorres Coelho – Fall 2015

Medical Resident from Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo in Vitoria, Brazil

“During my three months at Duke, I had the opportunity to learn about new research and technology. I was able to share our experiences in Brazil from what diseases are most prevalent to how we do medicine in limited resource areas. This provided a new perspective to my colleagues at Duke. This was the best time of my medical residency so far!” 

Dr. Felix Barasa - Fall 2013

Dr. Felix Barasa – Fall 2013

Cardiology Fellow from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya

“I experienced technology at its best; what was hitherto textbook knowledge to me, being practiced to save the lives of many patients. I also experienced state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and a well-integrated record system where all patients’ data can be accessed via a click; all these being done by dedicated and available staff that treat their patients with utmost dignity. As I travel back to Kenya, my patients, students and colleagues have expectations of learning from my experience. It is practical from my perspective to implement a few things I have learned that border on behavior change and efficient recourse utilization to improve patient care.”

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Dr. Yingying Li – Fall 2013

Nephrology Fellow from Beijing Hospital in Beijing, China

“I have had an extremely wonderful experience at Duke. I had the opportunity to work with world-class faculty and outstanding staff to provide comprehensive care to patients. I was deeply touched by their dedication to patients, work, research and education. This was the most rewarding time of my life.”