From October 28-30, 2024, our OMI MEX team embarked to Oaxaca, around 500 kilometers from Mexico City, to host one of our biggest seminars of the year: Maternal and Infant Health!
The course counted with 40 fellows from various areas of Maternal and Infant Health, ranging from neonatal professionals, family doctors and nurses wishing to dig deeper into state-of-the-art knowledge in their field to better attend the needs of Mexico and Latin America’s important demand for healthcare specialists. Speaking of state-of-the-art, we bridged our partners from Columbia University, world’s 17th best University according to Times Higher Education 2024, to fulfill our mission of developing medical education in the region.
Joining us in a traditional Mexican “Día de los Muertos” decorated scenery, Dr. Kathleen G. Brennan took the course leadership for the first time in OMI MEX. Dr. Brennan is assistant professor of pediatrics, associate director for the pediatric clerkship and associate program director for the neonatal-perinatal fellowship program at Columbia.
The diverse group of 40 fellows came from 14 different cities in Mexico and underscored the significance of an event of such caliber being held locally, this time in Oaxaca. According to Dr. Brennan: “The physicians gathered came with tremendous curiosity, engagement, and enthusiasm to understand how we can improve maternal and infant health around the world. Together we learned about the latest evidence in care and considered how these gold standards could be implemented in a variety of settings, practices, and hospitals. Learning and inspiration was not limited to didactics but extended to discussions before, between, and well after the hours of the seminar.”
Along with Dr. Brennan, Dr. Jean-Ju Sheen, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. Lauren Sanlorenzo, assistant professor of pediatrics; and Dr. Diana P. Vargas Chaves, also assistant professor of pediatrics, all joined us for the first time in Mexico to discuss from communication strategies to complex respiratory and cardiac conditions:
“During our conference, we reviewed identification and management of neonatal and maternal cardiac arrests, including a discussion of the pharmacokinetics of various pressors that could utilized. We explored the most common respiratory and cardiac pathophysiologies for neonates with a focus on identification and management. Additionally, we had a detailed review of the complex communication strategies required in many of these scenarios with a particular focus on delivering bad news, prenatal counseling at extreme prematurity, shared decision making. Finally, we explored medical education strategies to promote the best practices in care through best practices in teaching.” States Dr. Brennan.
According to our esteemed fellows, the seminar was marked by a blend of clinical topics and discussions unusually presented at medical events, but equally important. One of the course’s highlights were techniques of approaching patients and how to deliver bad news, a crucial aspect of doctor-patient communication. For Dr. Cecilia Villanueva from Mexico City, the lectures reminded her of the “importance of empathy in the field”, as well as “it was motivating to hear from world-renowned professionals the benefits of effective communication”.
Aside from teaching, our seminars come with valuable learning opportunities for our faculty, as inspiringly conveyed by our course director: “There is truly no greater gift than having the opportunity to teach and learn from this group of powerful young minds; and I am excited to see the impact they have on their home communities and on medicine at large.”
