This in not an official U.S. Department of State (DOS) blog and the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the DOS.

When I was planning Vicky and Patrick’s visit to the USA to participate in the Advanced Pharmaceutical Care Experiential Training Program, Dr. Linda Winkler, the Special Assistant to the Provost for International Outreach and Affairs, told me she was planning to bring two Tanzanian physicians to the USA at the same time.  Dr. Winkler runs a wonderful study abroad program in northeast Tanzania every summer at the site of a hospital called Nyakahanga Hospital in Karagwe.  Anyway, we were brainstorming about how the campus could benefit from the wealth of knowledge our guests could share and decided to host an East African Healthcare Forum.  We invited all four health professionals to speak along with students who had gone on the recent trips to Tanzania and Uganda.

Patrick describes the healthcare system in Uganda

They talked about the healthcare challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and discussed how practices differ there from the USA.  They spoke of what they are doing to overcome the barriers and improve patient health care outcomes.

Vicky compares the numbers and types of pharmacy staff in Uganda to those in hospitals in the USA

At the end, the panel of speakers responded to questions from the audience.

East African Health Care Forum Panel Discussion; Vicky is on the end, Stacy and Nikko are 2 of my students who went to Uganda last October, then Patrick is seated. The next student went to Tanzania last summer and the 2 Tanzanian Physicians are on the end

One of the fun things that I was able to share with Vicky and Patrick while they were in the USA was the celebration of Thanksgiving.  This is a very special time for families to gather in our culture and it was a joy to share this holiday with Vicky and Patrick and I think my family members gained as much or even more than they did from the experience.  Below are some of the pictures.

Vicky and Patrick with my Brother-in-law’s Father-in-law.

Thanksgiving hor d’oeuvres

Jason, my brother-in-law, is a trained chef and he went all out for this celebration and cooked 2 turkeys- one to display and one to cut up- there were lots of great leftovers, which is one of the best things about Thanksgiving!

Other accompaniments- it was a grand feast!

Jason, the chef, Patrick, and Reid, my nephew out in the yard