Hey Guys, something to please start thinking about…one of the potential sources of funding for our project is the Arnold P. Gold foundation.  They award grants up to $25,000 to med students, residents, and faculty with the goal of promoting humanism in medicine.  You can read more about it and see some examples here, http://humanism-in-medicine.org/intros/gWhatWeFund.html.  With that in mind, how can we spin our project to emphasize the humanistic aspects of it?  My thoughts so far:

– The physicians that travel will benefit from the experience of working with their Rwandan peers, they will learn about caring for patients in resource-poor settings.  These experiences will help develop empathy and cultural competency, thereby promoting humanism in medicine.
– Patients that use the district hospital for the most part are very poor.  If a patient needs medical imaging (CT or US) they are often referred to a hospital in Kigali.  This trip requires a full day from most rural locations, and the direct costs of transportation as well as implicit costs due to the time away from work/home.  By teaching district hospital physicians to use a new imaging tool, less patients may require a trip to Kigali for imaging.  Humanism is promoted by recognition that health is linked to economic situation.

what else?  leave comments or send an e-mail please!