Dartmouth’s Gastroenterology Team: Training On-Site in Rwanda

Dr. Steve Benson teaching colleagues in Rwanda.

One week, four Rwandan referral hospitals, 280 procedures, including the first ERCP in Rwanda (a procedure that combines endoscopy and x-ray to visualize the pancreas and biliary system). These were some of the highlights of Dartmouth’s recent gastroenterology (GI) team visit to Rwanda in October 2017 to train over 30  physicians and nurses in therapeutic endoscopy techniques. These enhanced skills will be used to diagnose a variety of GI disorders, including peptic ulcers, various cancers, and diseases of the pancreas and biliary system.

Dr. Steve Bensen MED '90, a GI specialist who has been to Rwanda four times as part of Dartmouth’s training program, Human Resources for Health, has been building the partnership with his counterparts in Rwanda, including having hosted Rwandan faculty and students at DHMC for learning exchanges. Initiated by his Rwandan colleagues, Dr. Bensen organized a team of 12 including GI doctors, nurses, endoscopy technicians and a biomedical engineer for hands-on training in collaboration with the inaugural Rwandan Society for Endoscopy. Dr. Vincent Dusabejambo, the Academic Head of the Department Internal Medicine at the University of Rwanda School of Medicine and Health Sciences, remarked that this activity "demonstrates the viability of our continued partnership with Dartmouth", establishing a legacy from Dartmouth's first engagement in the Rwandan Human Resources for Health Program in 2012.

Read more about their work in this AGC Magazine article.

Watch this 3-minute video to learn more about their week’s accomplishments.