To improve the quality of medical care in developing countries, ASH is partnering with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO), a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health through education. Currently, HVO has more than 60 programs in 25 nations in partnership with other medical, dental, and nursing societies. ASH is the first partner that will support programs dedicated solely to hematology.

ASH is working with HVO to recruit and support hematologist volunteers who travel to countries in need of education and training for health-care providers on the treatment of patients with blood disorders. This unique program covers the management of a full range of blood disorders, from the many forms of anemia (including those associated with malaria, pregnancy, iron deficiency, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease), to disorders that lead to abnormal bleeding and clotting, to malignant disorders such as leukemia and lymphoma. Methods designed to enhance the purity of the blood supply in these counties is also being taught.

HVO training programs focus on local diseases and health conditions, and the procedures and skills taught are relevant, realistic, and sustainable, with the goal that the indigenous population will continue to benefit from the experience long after the volunteer has departed. In addition to teaching, volunteers may also shape curriculum design, influence national health policy, and promote realistic health interventions.

Volunteers Needed!

Volunteers are currently being recruiting for the pilot hematology program at Mulago Hospital and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Volunteers will spend two weeks to one month teaching and training local health-care providers, giving them the knowledge and skills to make a difference in their own communities. Volunteers lecture, conduct ward rounds, and demonstrate various techniques in classrooms, clinics, and operating rooms. They may also be involved in training teachers, developing curricula, and mentoring students.

Eligible volunteers must be ASH members who are board-certified/eligible in hematology (volunteers with two years of training in a subspecialty fellowship and board-certified in internal medicine or pediatrics may be considered at the discretion of the program director), have some prior experience working in a remote environment and suitably flexible to adjust to the local situation, and clinicians must have a current medical license and register with the local medical council prior to the trip. The site needs volunteers in all areas of hematology, including both clinicians and laboratory scientists as well as adult and pediatric hematologists.

Through the program, the volunteer will be provided with a clean, safe place to live during their stay, though travel costs to and from the site would be borne by the volunteer. (This expense is tax deductible.) All volunteers will also receive detailed orientation materials from both HVO and the program director in advance of their departure.

To learn more, read about ASH's recent site visit to Uganda or about a volunteer's experience in Cambodia.

To apply to volunteer in Kampala, contact Jenny Kelley, HVO Volunteer Coordinator, at j.kelley@hvousa.org.

Identifying Future Program Sites – Site Assessors Needed!

Setting up program sites for hematologists to teach and train in developing countries is no easy task. Resources in developing countries - human, financial, and technological - are extremely limited, and demands for basic services are unmet, but HVO programs have shown that development of local expertise and institutional capacities can improve the quality of health care available. The goal of HVO is to help institutions develop the expertise to improve the quality of health care and create the solutions most appropriate for their needs.

The HVO Hematology Steering Committee is investigating potential sites to establish future hematology programs in Asia and Latin America. Hematology programs are carefully developed to allocate scarce resources based upon realistic objectives and sensible priorities. The Committee seeks dynamic ASH members to conduct site visits throughout 2008 to gather data and assess facilities, personnel, and available resources and take on the role of program director if the site is approved.

Site assessors spend approximately a week at the site, meeting with hematology staff, learning what the educational needs in hematology would be, and investigating whether or not an HVO program would be of benefit. A range of considerations are investigated, including the current status of practice, available equipment, lab and transfusion medicine support, and training and educational resources available.

The site assessor(s) then report the findings back to the Committee, which determines whether the site is appropriate and meets the teaching and training mission of HVO. If the site is approved, the site assessor then becomes the program director, working closely with HVO staff and the onsite contact to develop the program, recruit, and coordinate volunteers, and ensure that program goals are met.

Potential site assessors must:

• Be an ASH member in good standing
• Be board-certified in hematology or pediatric hematology/oncology
• Have a clinical background and medical degree
• Have prior experience working in a remote environment (not necessarily international) and are suitably flexible to adjust to the local situation
• Understand the nature of the work involved and be willing to work cooperatively with staff and the HVO Hematology Steering Committee

If you are interested in joining the leadership of the HVO hematology programs, please send your CV and a short statement describing your interest and prior experience in developing areas to Clare Kelley, International Programs Specialist, at pckelley@hematology.org.

Questions

To learn more about the ASH-HVO program, please contact Clare Kelley, International Programs Specialist, at pckelley@hematology.org.