The 2nd Joint Rural Critical Care (RCC) Course was recently conducted last February 9-12, 2009 at the Dakak Park Beach Resort, Dapitan City Philippines. This course was jointly conducted by the Ateneo de Zaamboanga University School of Medicine (ADZU-SOM) and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC).
This year’s RCC was attended by 80 rural physicians from the Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Misamis Occidental, Cotabato, Masbate, Aklan, Quezon Province, Iloilo and Cebu. Other attendees included Masters in Public Health and senior medical students of the ADZU-SOM.
The Canadian workshop leaders from the SRPC included Dr. Gordon Brock, Dr. Kenneth Babey, Dr. Meridale Dewar and Dr. Bent Hugueson. Drs. Brock, Dewar and Hogueson were part of the 1st RCC conducted in 2008 while Dr. Babey is one of the pivotal figures in the formation of the SRPC in the early 1990s.
Filipino Faculty included Dr. Fortunato Cristobal, Dean of the ADZU-SOM, Dr. Fidel Fernandez, Dr. Michael Macrohon, Dr. Ricardo Angeles, Dr. Pascualito Concepcion, Dr. Rex Samson, Dr. Dulce Amor Dagalea and Dr. Afdal Kunting.
The workshop topics covered this year included Obstetrics Emergencies, Hand Injuries, Airway Management, Pediatric Crisis, Psychiatric Crisis, EKGs, Upper and Lower Extremities, Orthopoedic Emergencies, a casting workshop, Head Injuries, Needs Assessment, How to Teach Procedures and How to Conduct a Successful Workshop. All these sessions included lectures and technical and procedural demonstrations from the workshop leader and return demonstration from the students.
Local Faculty delved more on the public health aspect of rural medicine to include alternative and innovative solutions. The topics discussed included Health Social Sciences, Outbreak Investigation, The Buntis Baby Bank, Biosand Filters, Solar Disinfection of Water, Photodocumentation and the Doctor as an Expert Witness.
Three special talks were also incorporated into this year’s RCC. “Medicine and Politics: Two Noble Professions” by Dr.Reynaldo Pagtakhan which delved on his journey from the Philippines to the Halls of the Canadian Parliament. Dr. Pagtakhan was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 and was re-elected for the fourth term in 2000. He was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs on January 15, 2002 and was appointed Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development) on May 26, 2002. Previously, he served as Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Dr. Fahreen Dossa on the other hand chronicled her invaluable and volunteer work to provide desperately needed health care to the people of Kabul in “Experiences in Afghanistan”. Dr. Babey on the other hand gave a talk on how the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada was formed and the many challenges they faced. This talk was meant as an encouragement to the participants as one of the aims of this year’s RCC is to encourage the formation of a similar society for rural physicians in the Philippines. Most importantly, the Rural Critical Care Course is aimed at improving the capabilities of rural doctors in critical care as well as providing innovative public health solutions and other skills relevant to rural medical practice.
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