Resident Scholar Reflections

Judith Hagedorn, MD

Stanford University

Hebron, West Bank – March 15 – March 24, 2012

Mentor: Dr. Scott Eggener

Sponsored by: Verathon

Through the generous sponsorship provided by Verathon, Dr. Judith Hagedorn traveled to Hebron, West Bank with mentor Dr. Scott Eggener to learn and assist surgeries at Hebron Hospital. Although in a politically turmoiled area, Dr. Hagedorn was able to develop an understanding of the diversities in healthcare due to limited resources.

Reporting on her experience, Dr. Hagedorn stated:

"Every morning we got picked up with the Ambulance of the Hebron Hospital. Our Palestinian driver made a daily pit stop, either to get some strong Arabic coffee or freshly fried falafels. 

"The hospital was quite simple, but clean. The staff was very friendly and showed

their appreciation for our visit. In addition, the patients were overly thankful and there was never a day we didn’t leave the hospital without a small present from one of the patients’ families.

"The clinical decision-making was also quite interesting and different from what I had learned in the Western World…. I had a wonderful, eye-opening, and rewarding experience, which definitely strengthened my passion to contribute to global health, and I am already looking forward to my next international medical/surgical trip."

Interested in learning more about our resident scholar program?

Find more information at our website, www.ivumed.org.

Jonathon Wu, MD

Stanford University

Hue, Vietnam – February 17 – March 4, 2012

Mentor: Dr. Walter Beh, MD

Sponsored by: The Western Section of the AUA

Through the generous sponsorship provided by the Western Section of the AUA, Dr. Jonathon Wu traveled to Hue, Vietnam with mentor Dr. Walter Beh. Dr. Wu and his mentor collaborated with Dr. Hung and his colleagues of the urology department, focusing on 19 patients with difficult cases. Dr. Wu was able to perform his first open pyelolithotomy under the supervision of a Vietnamese colleague, Dr. Tuan.

Reporting on his experience, Dr. Wu stated:

"In our two weeks of working mainly with Dr. Hung, I was very impressed by his surgical technique. Open surgery involved tediously dissecting out important structures and controlling all bleeding quickly with cautery or ligatures. He moved very quickly in the OR but was very purposeful with his movements. No suture was wasted as instrument tying was performed whenever possible. Bigger cases would often involve 2 attending surgeons intertwined in a well-rehearsed ballet.“What was even more impressive was the efficiency and resourcefulness of the hospital. We mostly worked with Dr. Hung who has been on the urology staff for 6 years. He is quite motivated and very enthusiastic.

"This disparity was made much more obvious to us when we observed a kidney transplant on our last day.… During the course of our 2 weeks, we were able to see the kinds of needs our Vietnamese colleagues had."