Posts tagged patient

But the work we do – and making it happen – is so much more than physically attending to patients. Direct patient care is the sharp end of the scalpel – but much more makes up the rest of the tool.
Canadian emergency physician Raghu sets off for Chad on his fourth MSF mission where he’s taking on a new challenge as Medical Team Leader. Please leave your comments and questions for Raghu below his blog post.
I was not really thinking to be a medical person, but after all of the death I saw and after my treatment, I felt that this is the most important thing that I can now do.
Francis Gatluak, on joining the MSF medical staff after being a patient first.
Photo: Francis Gatluak, one-time MSF patient, now the manager of the tuberculosis program at MSF’s hospital in Leer, South Sudan. South Sudan 2012 © John Stanmyer/VII Photo The Patient Becomes the Healer Three decades ago, when Francis Gatluak was a boy, civil war forced his family to flee their small village in Unity State, in the northern reaches of what is now South Sudan. He was diagnosed with kala azar, a disease that thrives in poor, unstable areas with limited health care.   Francis endured the difficult SSG treatment at MSF’s nearby camp, and recovered. Since he spoke some English, the staff asked him if he would stay and work with them as a translator. He did this for a few months, developing a desire to do more. “I started to learn about how I can help the patient,” he says. “If there are people who can give medication, I can also help to do the job, and help the community.” Today, he is a nurse in his twenty-third year working with MSF. He has gone on MSF assignments in other African countries and recently returned to the Leer hospital, where he is now in charge of the tuberculosis ward. And he recently traveled to Washington, DC, to speak on the organization’s behalf when MSF was awarded the highly-esteemed 2012 J. William Fulbright Award for International Understanding.

Photo: Francis Gatluak, one-time MSF patient, now the manager of the tuberculosis program at MSF’s hospital in Leer, South Sudan. South Sudan 2012 © John Stanmyer/VII Photo

The Patient Becomes the Healer

Three decades ago, when Francis Gatluak was a boy, civil war forced his family to flee their small village in Unity State, in the northern reaches of what is now South Sudan. He was diagnosed with kala azar, a disease that thrives in poor, unstable areas with limited health care.  

Francis endured the difficult SSG treatment at MSF’s nearby camp, and recovered. Since he spoke some English, the staff asked him if he would stay and work with them as a translator. He did this for a few months, developing a desire to do more. “I started to learn about how I can help the patient,” he says. “If there are people who can give medication, I can also help to do the job, and help the community.”


Today, he is a nurse in his twenty-third year working with MSF. He has gone on MSF assignments in other African countries and recently returned to the Leer hospital, where he is now in charge of the tuberculosis ward. And he recently traveled to Washington, DC, to speak on the organization’s behalf when MSF was awarded the highly-esteemed 2012 J. William Fulbright Award for International Understanding.

Photo: Mary Marizani and her family.   Zimbabwe 2012 © MSF First Patient Cured of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Epworth, Zimbabwe In her home on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital city, 48-year-old Mary Marizani says that, although she recently became the first MSF patient in the country to conquer multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), she now faces another challenge: “I have my appetite back and now I am eating everything in sight.”

Photo: Mary Marizani and her family.   Zimbabwe 2012 © MSF

First Patient Cured of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Epworth, Zimbabwe

In her home on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital city, 48-year-old Mary Marizani says that, although she recently became the first MSF patient in the country to conquer multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), she now faces another challenge: “I have my appetite back and now I am eating everything in sight.”

Refugees Dying from Lack of Water in South Sudan

Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing fighting in Sudan are facing a full-blown humanitarian crisis, with people dying from a lack of water, adequate medical care, and shelter as they seek refuge in already-overcrowded camps in South Sudan. MSF Medical Team Leader Dr. Erna Rijnierse described the situation in Maban on June 14.

The father has heard that foreigners come here and experiment on people. Rafiq, the first child we treated with drugs died and the mother reported to others that the drugs we gave Rafiq killed him. This leaves me deeply upset.

Dr. Kartik Chandaria is a doctor writing from Tajikistan where he is working to treat children with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. This is Kartik’s second mission as an MSF doctor. His first was in Liberia in 2007.

Check out his blog.

Armenia: In Fight Against TB, MSF Expands Patient Centered Approach MSF has stepped up the implementation of its patient-centered drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment program in Armenia in order to combat the alarming rising rates of the disease in the country. MSF’s patient-centered program aims to provide a complete package of care for DR-TB patients, including medical, social, and psychological support. Once a patient starts treatment, MSF tries to help them cope with the side effects by providing face-to-face individual medical monitoring and treatment, individual or group counseling, home visits, and food assistance—all of which are designed to help patients adhere to the drug regimen. A comprehensive follow up program helps as well, as does patient education and access to care, which can be improved by bringing the care as close to the patients as possible.Armenia 2012 © Eddy McCall/MSF An MSF TB doctor conducts a home-based visit for a DRTB patient in Armenia.

Armenia: In Fight Against TB, MSF Expands Patient Centered Approach

MSF has stepped up the implementation of its patient-centered drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment program in Armenia in order to combat the alarming rising rates of the disease in the country.

MSF’s patient-centered program aims to provide a complete package of care for DR-TB patients, including medical, social, and psychological support. Once a patient starts treatment, MSF tries to help them cope with the side effects by providing face-to-face individual medical monitoring and treatment, individual or group counseling, home visits, and food assistance—all of which are designed to help patients adhere to the drug regimen. A comprehensive follow up program helps as well, as does patient education and access to care, which can be improved by bringing the care as close to the patients as possible.

Armenia 2012 © Eddy McCall/MSF
An MSF TB doctor conducts a home-based visit for a DRTB patient in Armenia.