Key Collaborator from UGHE, Dr. Barnabas Alayande, visits Stanford

Stanford Surgery has begun engaging in collaborative work in partnership with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda with a shared goal of promoting health education and surgical skills training. Global Engagement hosted Dr. Barnabas Alayande, a general surgeon and key coordinator of the activities, as a scholarly guest from March 25^th to April 3^rd, 2023.

Dr. Alayande met with senior faculty members and leaders at including Department Chair Dr. Mary Hawn to share his view on the pressing needs at his institution and propose ideas to effectively improve and develop bidirectional programs. He also met with leaders from the Center for Innovation and Global Health and the Byers Center for Biodesign as well as the full Stanford team from ENTRUST.

Additionally, Dr. Alayande was able to experience much of what Stanford Surgery has to offer its community. He joined the Division of General Surgery’s Morbidity and Mortality conference and Department Grand Rounds. He also attended surgical skills courses at the Goodman Simulation Center and Clinical Anatomy facilities. Towards the end of his visit, Dr. Alayande participated in S-SPIRE’s 3-Day Mixed Methods Workshop.

Dr. Alayande’s visit follows the return of two Stanford Surgery residents who visited UGHE for three weeks in late February/early March. General Surgery Residents Drs. Carlie Arbaugh and Jaclyn Wu assisted in teaching and educational activities at the medical school.

Dr. Alayande was enthusiastic about future opportunities with Global Engagement:

“Connecting in person with the Stanford Global Engagement team was inspiring. Bringing a low-income country, variable-resource context perspective, it was exciting to see people, possibilities, and products that can help drive the health equity agenda from the academic hub in Silicon Valley.

I met with a wide range of expert surgical thought leaders, biodesign experts, simulation and anatomy experts, surgical educators, education fellows, residents, surgical residents, leading global medical innovation experts, and friends in such a short time. It was a privilege to finally meet people who had been contributing to various aspects of the work in Rwanda face-to-face. The 3-day Stanford S-SPIRE Mixed Methods workshop has revolutionized my approach to mixed methods research, based on the close expert mentorship, interactive group sessions, and the hands-on nature of the course.

It is more and more clear that there is potential for more cross-cultural learning between the University of Global Health Equity and Stanford University on multiple levels. Truly, the Ghanaian proverb rings true- ‘One head does not exchange ideas.’"