Our team outside of the hospital in Lusaka, ZambiaIn August 2023, two faculty members and two senior residents from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine travelled to the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, to take part in an international rotation. 

CA-3 Ben Forston, M.D., and Tyler Abarca, M.D., ready to go to Lusaka! Associate Professor and Residency Program Director Tekuila Carter, M.D.; Assistant Professor Adam McKinney, M.D.; and CA-3s Ben Fortson, M.D.; and Tyler Abarca, M.D., participated in the opportunity to study anesthesia in another country. This trip was part of a Global Anesthesia Program headed by the University of Wisconsin.  

Lusaka is Zambia’s largest city and capital. The coalition with the University of Wisconsin works with the Zambia Anesthetic Development Program (ZADP), which consists of a group of anesthesiologists who have been working for years to teach anesthesia techniques in Lusaka. ZADP plays an integral role in training resident anesthesiologists. The country has around 60 physician anesthesiologists for a population of 19 million citizens, therefore programs such as ZADP are crucial to providing adequate care to its patient populations.

Lusaka is considered a low resource environment. Fortson and Abarca shared the that hospital lacked many basic resources Our team in Zambiacommonly used for anesthesia care in the United States such as standard monitors, sterile supplies, and basic anesthetic medications. The quality of care performed by Zambia anesthesiologists is challenging, yet Abarca shared that he found the resilience and ingenuity of the anesthesia residents in Zambia amazing. 

 “The gratitude and resilience of the patients stuck with me," Fortson adds. “In the future, the department will continue to be part of this coalition to provide training for our residents and faculty as well as support the training of physicians in Zambia.” 

Tyler Abarca, M.D., Adam McKinney, M.D., and Ben Forston, M.D.