By Kristen Lans W hen darkness overtakes the wards of the district hospital in Kenya, doctors' eyes must adjust to the beam of a flashlight and moonlight from the windows when examining patients. Electricity is available but lights are at the far ends of the large open wards, providing little help in the hospital that bears the name of the country's president, Daniel Moi. Even running water is only a sporadic luxury. Lacking lab tests to diagnose an illness, doctors must rely on what the patient tells them and the physical signs of disease.
Life is so different.
He, Dr. Charles B. Sherman and Dr. E. Jane Carter worked in Africa through an exchange program joined by the medical school a year ago. Brown is now part of a consortium of medical schools at the University of Chicago, Pennsylvania State, University of Oregon and Indiana University that is working with the Daniel Moi University and hospital. T hrough the program, begun eight years ago, doctors, residents and medical students to participate in exchanges. By visiting universities in the United States, Kenyan doctors learn how to perform new procedures and use unfamiliar equipment. They also receive assistance in developing and refining their curriculum.