Multiple cases, stories, anecdotes and experiences have taken place over 37 years of collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, United States), the University Hospital of Santander and the Industrial University of Santander, as part of an inter-institutional agreement established between the entities.
In this act of installation of the medical mission, as a special event, the Government of Santander, through Decree 065, awarded the order of meritorious citizen special category to Dr. Sonia Dummit, for her leadership in the Wisconsin Medical Mission, during 37 years of service.
“It has been magnificent, this exchange. We have been having residents and students from the University travel to the U.S. for several years on an expense-paid basis to learn about our techniques, methodologies, ways of learning and culture change. The best thing is that we can help each other. This is not easy, to operate 80-100 patients in two weeks, and to face the complications that arise, is a task of much effort. Each year the number of participants increases, and today we have 41 people who are willing to give their best for this new mission,” said Dr. Sonia Dumit, head of the Wisconsin Medical Mission.
“This mission is the continuity of a work we started almost 40 years ago. For more than 10 years, our residents have been going and doing internships in hand surgery and microsurgery, which we did not do here before. We also involve our undergraduate students,” said Carlos Enrique Ramirez Rivero, coordinator of the Medical Mission in Colombia, professor of the Specialization in Plastic Surgery: Reconstructive and Aesthetic, UIS.
Lip, palate and hand are the most recurrent pathologies that will be treated in this mission, especially in pediatric patients. This academic and humanitarian exchange is no longer only performed by physicians from the Medical College of Wisconsin, now, also participating physicians from the University of Iowa, and continue to link staff from other institutions.
“I did my special internship rotation at the Medical College of Wisconsin, I was able to do it through the Mission and meeting Dr. Sonia, and through UIS mobility. From the mission I learned that the effort they make is very great, they give great importance to the patient, the environment is different, the pathologies that I met are not the same as in Santander. Residents, graduate students, doctors, everyone was very welcoming,” said Natalia Vanegas, a medical student.
The medical mission has not only helped the community with free surgeries, but also strengthens medical education by linking Plastic Surgery residents and senior medical students.
This has allowed the learning of new methodologies and the strengthening of the academy, and all this has resulted in the welfare of students and the community, said Professor Lina Maria Vera Cala, dean of the Faculty of Health.
