In a unique model, nurses from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital have been traveling to Rwanda to work with oncology nurses to improve cancer care. Rwanda, known as the “land of a thousand hills”, has a population of 10 million. The nursing fellowship program, developed with Partners In Health (PIH), started in April 2012. To date, seven oncology nurses from Boston have traveled to Rwanda to learn about local health and cancer care and work with Rwandan nurses to improve oncology care. So far, five nurses from the Boston area have spent three month rotations in Rwanda, each building on the previous accomplishments and educational initiatives. The initial program began with the first national baseline cancer training for nurses and doctors throughout Rwanda. The training was held in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and PIH at the PIH training site at Rwinkwavu Hospital in the eastern region of Rwanda. In July 2012, a cancer program opened at the new Butaro Hospital, located in the northern region of Rwanda. The first fellow, Anne Elperin, worked with Rwandan nurses to develop chemotherapy mixing and administration policies based on international standards for safe handling. Currently, the nurses are working on new programs to treat side effects, manage patient volume, and organize patient charts including a new electronic medical system (EMR) system. New programs are being developed to host nurses from hospitals throughout Rwanda at Butaro Hospital for practical training in oncology nursing care. National training in cancer care continues twice yearly and is now taught largely by Rwandans nurses who have been caring for cancer patients for the past 18 months.
Fellows to date:
Anne Elperin
Barbara Virchick
Melissa St. Croix
Maura Pevear
Robert Benvenuti (Haiti)
Lori Buswell
In the United States, Lori Buswell, MS ANP-BC OCN® is a Vice President for Nursing and Clinical Services at DFCI where she oversees satellites and network affiliates. She has become more involved in global health and is a member of the DFCI Center for Global Cancer Medicine. In that role, she works closely with Partners in Health to develop, support and build in-country capacity for oncology programs in Haiti and Rwanda. In early 2013, Lori traveled to Rwanda in for three months and recently reflected on her experience:
As a DFCI/PIH nurse fellow, the time I spent in Rwanda was one of the most
rewarding experiences in my professional and personal life. There is such a
great need and the smallest things have such a huge impact. Despite the
language barriers, between myself and some of the nurses and most of the
patients, the care, compassion, gratitude and connectedness was strong and
humbling.
For more information about the fellows’ experiences in Rwanda, visit their blogs at PIH or Dana-Farber.
For more information about the program, please contact Lori Buswell at: lbuswell@partners.org.
Lisa Kennedy Sheldon PhD APRN-BC
Assistant Professor
University of Massachusetts Boston