In Principio_S1 2018_WEB

I N P R I N C I P I O | 1 2 For Medicine student, Anthony Gadenne , providing urgent medical aid to thousands affected by natural disaster and internal conflict, is just the beginning of the ‘road to recovery’ Leaving a lasting legacy—a network of locals trained to carry on when disaster teams move out—is the key to success of any mission. Anthony is a member of the West Australian not-for-profit organisation, BackPacker Medics (BPM), which not only provides post-disaster medical care in remote regions of the world but also equips local teams with the tools and skills necessary to treat patients in the organisation’s absence. In November last year Anthony, a second year student at Notre Dame’s School of Medicine, Fremantle, led a team of eight West Australian paramedics, nurses and health care workers to provide urgent medical aid to Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh, 450,000 of whom have been displaced from the neighbouring Myanmar. Working among the sick and injured in Cox’s Bazar District, 40km from the Myanmar border, they treated hundreds of people for machete and gunshot wounds, burns, tuberculosis, and life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition, among other serious ailments. During the 14-day mission Anthony and the BPM team recruited Rohingya volunteers and trained them in basic first aid, patient assessment, extrication and transport. The initial group of around 20 volunteers was equipped with uniforms, First Aid kits, medical supplies and patient transport equipment, including stretchers. The training initiative created the Rohingya Volunteer Ambulance Network (RVAN) – a group capable of delivering immediate on-the-ground care, to the growing number of refugees seriously injured as a result of violence and persecution or who become critically ill as a result of the tough conditions in or enroute to the refugee camps. Beyond the ability to provide continuous care in BPM’s absence, the RVAN has also been successful in renewing the hope and sense of purpose felt by those facing an uncertain future. “Given the vastness of the refugee camps and the incredibly taxing conditions, we have encountered patients who were becoming critically ill simply because they could not make it to suitable health care facilities,” said Anthony, a former SAS soldier turned paramedic. Anthony originally became involved with BPM in 2014 while working in a remote health clinic in Nepal. In the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake that killed almost 9,000 people, he returned to Nepal to provide medical aid to people in remote regions who were in desperate need of assistance. “The experience of assisting people facing desperate hardship can further shape my knowledge and skills as a second-year Medicine student and give me the courage to enter the medical profession with confidence,” said Anthony. “At the same time it is such a great reward to see the locals step up and fill a void left when the immediate response teams move out.” “That sense of achievement goes a long way in helping them to carry on in the face of such adversity.” MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR THE LONG-TERM