Maternal health refers to women’s health during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal time period. Each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being. Additionally, protecting and improving the health of children is fundamentally important. Maternal and child health is an important public health issue because we have the opportunity to end preventable deaths among women and children, and to greatly improve their health and well-being.
The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University Medical Center provides primary care for patients of all ages, including maternal and child care. This week, the OMI MEX Duke University Seminar in Family Medicine: Maternal and Child Health, took place in Mexico City from October 23 to 25, 2023. Dr. Nancy Weigle, Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, served as the course director. Dr. Tiffany Covas, Dr. Andrea B. Dotson, and Dr. John W. Ragsdale III completed the faculty, offering the fellows a well-rounded group of experts.
The faculty put together an informative program for the 44 family physicians who attended the three-day course, which included 12 lectures that focused on Care of the Low-Risk Pregnancy, Common Newborn Issues, Sexually Transmitted Disease Update, Immunization Update, Well Child Checks, Physician Wellness, and more. The fellows’ case presentation sessions took place on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, allowing fellows to share scenarios from their everyday work with the faculty, to receive input and additional perspectives. Additionally, the participants took part in a workshop that focused on delivering unexpected news. This interactive workshop brought new perspectives, provided tips and tricks on how to have fruitful conversations, and will surely help fellows in their interactions with patients.
The Family Medicine curriculum rotates on a three-year basis. Next year, Duke University faculty will present a more in-depth version of the Family Medicine: Maternal and Child Health Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. We are grateful for the committed faculty members who travel around the globe to make medical education beyond borders possible!
Nancy Weigle, MD
Course Director
The OMI MEX family medicine participants discussed many aspects of care during pregnancy, childhood, and explored advanced communication skills needed for delivering unexpected news. We enjoyed impressive case presentations that represented the variety of cases seen by family physicians. Participants were highly engaged and enthusiastic learners, eager to bring new ideas back to their home institutions. It was a true pleasure for our faculty to participate!
