Nevada State College students practice medical skills in Ethiopia

While in Ethiopia this summer, Nevada State College senior Anam Qadir was approached by a young girl one sunny morning. The girl said "I love you" over and over again. It was the only English she knew, and it made for Qadir's favorite memory of her trip.

Qadir and seven other NSC students spent June 24 through July 10 in Ethiopia as part of a medical mission with NSC professors Kebret Kebede and Robin Herlands and Spring Valley Hospital surgery technician Lance Bocobo. They assisted with surgeries at Black Lion Hospital and lectured at Addis Ababa University Medical School in Addis Ababa.

Qadir is majoring in biology and psychology and hopes to get into medical school and eventually work in the cardiology field.

Like her classmates, she submitted a letter explaining why she wanted to go on the mission. For Qadir, it was very personal.

She lived in Pakistan until she was 11, in a poor village with one doctor. Her grandfather died from a hip fracture because he didn't receive proper care, she said.

She also lost a friend in second grade because the parents didn't have the $3 to take her to the doctor when she was ill.

"I think being in America, I kind of forgot why I chose the field in the first place," Qadir said. "I forgot there's so many people that need help."

Students on the trip were dedicated enough to fundraise and pitch in their own money to make up the difference. The trip cost about $4,200 per person.

The NSC Foundation, student government and university leaders donated to the effort, and Qadir ended up having to pay about $1,000 out of pocket.

About $200,000 worth of supplies were donated by a medical equipment company to perform total hip replacement and knee replacement surgeries.

Kebede performed about 30 free surgeries. Each would have cost more than $40,000 in America, he said.

Kebede participates in medical missions whenever he has a break from teaching. During the summer and holidays, he's in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia or other countries doing pro bono work.

He hopes missions like these will have an impact on his students.

"The intention was to provide them with a global perspective on health care," Kebede said. "They were able to appreciate the similarities and differences here and around the world. They were able to learn a lot of things in terms of medical experience. That makes them understand what would be required of them when they join their respective programs."

Students were able to shadow physicians during surgeries and assist in the emergency room.

Qadir was nervous the first time she went into a surgery with Kebede and Bocobo. As they do with all new students, Qadir said, the doctors played a practical joke to ease her nerves.

The hospital barely had the essentials, too. Doctors were using the light cast from their cellphones to look into patients' eyes and mouths. Qadir gave them a flashlight she brought to use instead.

The hospital's sole blood pressure machine broke during their trip. The students had collected equipment to donate to the hospital and, luckily, a blood pressure machine was among the supplies.

Sometimes power at the hospital would go out for minutes at a time.

"You don't know if your patient is alive at that time because the monitors are down," Qadir said.

At times, she said, she felt helpless because she was not experienced enough to help the many people in pain who approached her.

She said one patient had a gunshot wound in his stomach and didn't see a doctor for three days.

"At that moment I knew I need to work extra hard to become a doctor very fast," Qadir said, "so that next time I can help someone instead of getting someone for them."

During the last three days of their trip, the members of the group really endeared themselves to the doctors and nurses when they renovated an empty hospital room to make a break room for the staff.

Kebede has another medical mission planned in December and hopes to be able to bring a couple of students if possible.

Donations for medical missions can be made to the Nevada State College Foundation. For more information, call Kebede's office at 992-2614.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.