University of Gondar

University of Gondar graduation

By Ally Sterman
Student, Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine

Yesterday was a day of celebration here in Gondar. The university graduated over 45,00 students today. Students graduating were from a variety of fields and disciplines including undergraduate, masters, and professional students. The University of Gondar also graduated three PhD students in the field of public health from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, which was a first for the university. Most of the students were undergraduate students with close to 1,000 students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Next was Faculty of Natural and Computational Science with 850 students. The Faculty of the Veterinary Medicine will graduate their first class next year though there were students who graduated today with a degree in the field of veterinary public health.

Though a majority of the graduation process was similar there were a few subtle differences between graduation here and at Ohio State. In the states it is typical for graduates to enter to the song Pomp and Circumstance. Today they entered to a different song that seemed to be much shorter and strictly keyboard-based.  Another big difference, here in Gondar they announced and gave awards to students with the highest grades in their respective fields as they graduate. Though we acknowledge them in our programs, with cords or other visual means, we do not announce their names.

There were also a lot of similarities. They had speeches including one from their president and then a special guest speaker. Very similar to Ohio State, they awarded the speaker an honorary degree from the university. They also dressed very similar. Students and faculty were in the black graduation robes with hoods if they were from a degree program that we would hood for, but the undergraduates had sashes where we would have nothing to distinguish the different undergraduate majors.

Below is a video taken while graduates are walking in. Many are seated while quite a few are still walking past. In the background you can hear the music they are entering to, cheers from graduates/families/friends. You can also see some of the professors and external examiners that came to help give exams or determine if candidates were eligible to graduate.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/K1hiRAxU0J4]

Microbiology lab at the University of Gondar hospital

From left to right: Ohio State's Baye Molla, DVM, PhD, and Tim Landers, RN, PhD along with University of Gondar's Wubet Birhan, head, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, Kassie Molla, head, microbiology laboratory, and Tigist Feleke, lab technologist

From left to right: Ohio State’s Baye Molla and Tim Landers along with University of Gondar’s Wubet Birhan, head, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences; Kassie Molla, head, microbiology laboratory; and Tigist Feleke, lab technologist

By Bayleyegn Molla, DVM, PhD
College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University

This week, I had a chance to tour the microbiology at the University of Gondar Hospital.

The lab processes hundreds of samples from patients every month. Patient samples are accepted, labeled and sent on to the microbiology lab where they are placed in different agars and broths to check for the growth of bacteria in patient samples.

I was surprised when the staff showed us a large book where the date, source, and patient information are recorded. This can be a time consuming task and makes it difficult to transmit results efficiently to clinicians. Papers can be torn, lost, or burned.

It is a less than ideal system.

When I asked to see the computer, they happily showed us the new electronic system to track individual results including results, name of the organism recovered, and information about antibiotic resistance for each organism. Having this system allows more rapid feedback to clinic staff and can be used to research problems in microbiology.

I was relieved and encouraged that they were using this technology.

This made me reflect on how I still rely on older systems in my old work.  They are comfortable for us to use. In order to really harness technology to address important health and food safety problems, I also need to help develop effective technology, trust it to perform, and use it to its maximum.

That is what I learned in the microbiology lab.

Ohio State in Ethiopia: Now the students’ work begins

By Ally Sterman
Student, Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine

With the start of the both the new week and new month our Ethiopia summer project really begins. Though we four students from various colleges at Ohio State arrived near the end of last week in Ethiopia, we did not begin our field work until July 1.

Our project takes us into both the rural and urban communities interviewing local adults, children, policy makers, community and faith leaders, as well as health care workers about rabies and dogs. We are set to travel around to three different areas before a workshop is held in Addis Ababa to discuss rabies further in mid-July.

However we do not go out alone. Each Ohio State student has two wonderful Ethiopian University of Gondar partners. These individuals are primarily faculty and staff at the university from a variety of fields/disciplines. They not only serve as interpreters for our project but tour guides of the city and historians for Ethiopia’s culture/traditions/history. They are quickly becoming lifelong and treasured friends. I know I can speak for all of the students about how grateful and appreciative we are for their help and how much fun/enjoyable they are making this experience.

The picture below was taken before one of the interviews conducted by my group. My group’s main focus is community leaders which include teachers, faith leaders, elders, and other various leaders in both the rural and urban settings. This picture was taken of one of the churches we travelled to in the city of Gondar where we had the opportunity to meet and talk to the priests about rabies and the dog population here in the city.

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Hand-in-hand on hygiene in a hospital setting

Tim Landers, RN, PhD, from Ohio State’s College of Nursing and Nora Mohammed, MSc, from University of Gondar -- an infection prevention hero!

Tim Landers, RN, PhD, from Ohio State’s College of Nursing and Nora Mohammed, MSc, from University of Gondar — an infection prevention hero!

By Tim Landers, RN, PhD
Ohio State College of Nursing

“Are you from Ohio? Will you talk to me?”

Nura stopped me in the courtyard of the University of Gondar hospital. She was waving my business card that had been given to her from a School of Nursing instructor who knew that my work centers on infection prevention.

She had just defended her Master’s thesis on hand hygiene at the University of Gondar in which she completed an audit of hand hygiene practices by nurses and other health care workers at a local hospital. When she told me about her project, I was very excited to learn more, so we met the next day to review her findings.

Improving hand hygiene saves lives. Reducing transmission of germs on the hands of health care workers is the most important means of preventing infections.  A recent article of mine on patient-centered hand hygiene is here. Another important article on the subject is here.

Effective hand hygiene programs use a multimodal approach, including strong administrative support, education, training, monitoring of hand-washing and feedback. A critical element of hand hygiene programs is providing products and supplies in the health care setting, and I’ve worked on the best approach for years.

But I had forgotten how critical the provision of products is in our hand hygiene efforts. Without a sink, running water, soap, or alcohol-based hand rubs, hand hygiene is simply not possible.

Quite frankly, I had come to take this for granted.

Until I met Nora.

In her study, Ms. Mohammed showed that in more than half of the “hand hygiene opportunities” – times when workers should perform hand hygiene – no soap, running water, or alcohol-based hand-rubs were available at this hospital. As a former nursing matron, or director of nursing, she saw the impact this had on patient outcomes.

By demonstrating the need to improve access, her study provides an important first step in improving hand hygiene practices.

I was really excited to meet someone who shares a passion for infection prevention and hand hygiene. She really is making a difference at her hospital and helping to save lives in Gondar. In the U.S., we call them “heroes!”

Yes, I am from Ohio, and I would love to talk to you!

O – H – I – O ! Ohio State students arrive in Ethiopia

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We were very excited to welcome four Ohio State students to Gondar yesterday.  They are beginning their work on the needs assessment for a rabies prevention/elimination project.

Last night over a traditional Ethiopian dinner, the group met with University of Gondar Veterinary Medicine Dean Dr. Mersha Chanie, Chair of Sociology Molalign Belay, guest Dr. Judd Walson from the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health, and Ohio Staters including Veterinary Medicine Professor Baye Molla, College of Nursing Vice Dean Usha Menon and other College of Nursing faculty.

One thing that struck me was the diversity and intensity of the group.  These four students represent the breadth of programs at Ohio State and how interdisciplinary work can bring creative and innovative perspectives to important problems.

Third-year veterinary student Karissa Magnuson is interested in wildlife veterinary medicine.  Ally Sterman is a third-year veterinary student with an interest in shelter medicine and public health approaches to veterinary problems.  Korbin Smith, BS ’13, was inspired by Dr. Randall Harris in the College of Public Health to consider opportunities in public health.  Heading up the team is graduate student Laura Binkley, who is working on a Master’s degrees in public health and wildlife ecology.

Absolutely striking was the passion that each student brought to their particular interests and the lively discussion about where interests overlap and intersect.  This is the kind of collaboration that we can build only at a major academic institution like Ohio State.

Go Bucks!

Ohio State and Ethiopia: Building Collaborations

Here I am reviewing some class materials with students in the “Food Safety and Food Borne Diseases” course, as part of the Summer One Health Institute.

Here I am reviewing some class materials with students in the “Food Safety and Food Borne Diseases” course, as part of the Summer One Health Institute.

by Bayleyegn Molla, DVM, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor and International Programs Coordinator
Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine

Our hope is to establish ongoing collaborative relationships–not just during the One Health Summer Institute, but well in to the future.  We hope to be able to build a mutually beneficial partnership between faculty and students at Ohio State and University of Gondar, which will help leverage expertise and open opportunities for all.

For participants from Ethiopia, this experience can bring the world-class knowledge and expertise of Ohio State to address important public health problems, though training and ongoing working relationships.  Partners at the University of Gondar bring a wealth of knowledge about local priorities and infrastructure.

Research and practice priorities are well organized in thematic areas with an emphasis on team-based research.

For faculty from Ohio State, this partnership offers the opportunity to explore and help develop solutions to tropical diseases, wildlife and environmental issues, and to apply new approaches in a different culture and region.  This opportunity helps expand the capabilities for students trained through the University of Gondar and faculty to use this knowledge to address important issues in Ohio, in our country, and throughout the world.

It is very rewarding to see this partnership in action in the One Health Summer Institute.  Students and faculty from nursing, public health, veterinary medicine, basic sciences, and human medicine have been discussing important problems such:

  • Food-borne illnesses
  • MRSA prevention
  • Cervical cancer
  • Zoonotic diseases

More importantly, these workshops explore potential ways to work together in the coming months and years.

The “One Health” framework is an excellent foundation on which to build this partnership, because it relies on contributions from a range of scientific experts and the active engagement of students in workshop sessions.

Being from Ethiopia originally, and now as a faculty member at Ohio State, it is tremendously rewarding to see the engagement of both universities in an effort to improve health.

Ohio State Arrives in Gondar–Let One Health Begin!

By Tim Landers
Ohio State College of Nursing

We’ve arrived in Gondar!

Our traveling group from the College of Nursing arrived this morning and were greeted by officials from the University of Gondar and Baye Molla, PhD, clinical assistant professor in Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Molla is a native of Gondar and has been a wonderful guide and adviser as we have planned our trip to Ethiopia for the One Health Summer Institute.

Over the summer, we will be joined by 20 faculty and students from Ohio State, representing the colleges of Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, Public Health, Optometry, and Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, as well as faculty from Addis Ababa University and University of Gondar.

In addition, Robert Agunga, director of Ohio State’s Center for African Studies, will join us in presenting a series of short courses using the One Health framework.

The College of Nursing’s faculty contingent will begin the institute by offering a week-long course in research methods to students and faculty from the University of Gondar.