Jonathan Meadows

Jonathan Meadows, MS, MPH, CPH, OMS-II at TouroCOM-Harlem, interned at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Anesthesiology Summer Internship Program (ASIP) in Nashville, TN for ten weeks, working on research and clinical projects related to emergency medicine, anesthesia, and global surgery, among others.

September 10, 2015

Jonathan, can you tell us a bit about the projects you worked on this summer?

This summer I worked with primary investigator Dr. Kelly KA McQueen, Associate Professor of the Anesthesiology Division of Ambulatory Anesthesiology (Director of Vanderbilt Anesthesia Global Health & Development; President of Global Surgical Consortium; and President of Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence). I completed an intense literature review of global surgical capacity over the past ten years and a complementary database; I provided statistical consultation on calculating the maternal mortality rate gap as a function of caesarian section rates, and I generated advertisement material for ASAP meetings. 

My main project was creating a numerical index that ranked the surgical capacity of low-income countries (as defined by the World Bank Group) utilizing the Lancet Commissions on Global Surgical (LCoGS) Indicators as well as traditional global health indicators and available published data.

What was so significant about this index?

This tool is critical for data collection, reducing the data reporting gap, monitoring and evaluation projects, and providing a policy and implementation information for a variety of stakeholders (non-governmental organizations, the World Health Organization and its regional counterparts, academic institutions, etc.).  This tool is timely as safe global surgery and anesthesia enters into the forefront of global health. It was recognized as a critical component of universal health coverage by the World Health Assembly in May 2015, in addition to the release of World Bank Group’s updated Disease Control Priorities and the LCoGS special reports in spring 2015.

Thus, my duties were mainly research tasks and objectives, but I also attended anesthesia seminars and shadowed anesthesiologists in pediatrics, burn ICU, and one-day surgery.  I got the chance to observe anesthesia nerve blocks of entire regions of the body (regional blocks), anesthesia general inductions, and gauze-dressing changes for burn patients.  I received a plethora of material and books that I will be studying over the remainder of my time at TouroCOM (such as The Role of Anesthesiology in Global Anesthesia and Anesthesia Student Survival Guide: A Case-Based Approach, which was co-edited by one of the Vanderbilt Anesthesia Faculty Members, Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld).  I also presented my work at the Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health Grand Rounds and the Anesthesiology Department.  

 How did this internship shape or solidify your future specialty?

The internship, and working with Dr. McQueen in particular, has been an amazing and life-changing experience that has helped me further solidify my passion for anesthesia, emergency medicine and global-health capacity building. It has inspired me to learn more about osteopathic manipulative techniques to help manage pain, alongside the anesthesia pain management principles I hope to master and possibly apply to the global gap in pain management and other areas of need. 

Currently, Dr. McQueen and I are making final corrections to our publication of the major project and we are anticipating its acceptance by the World Journal of Surgery. In upcoming years, Dr. McQueen and I will be working on proposals to address the global data gap and collect the data in countries abroad, as well as other publications regarding global surgery and anesthesia.

Do you have a message for current medical students at TouroCOM?

Yes—I encourage every student to pursue their specific passions in medicine now and find his or her niche.  Add value to teams though projects in that field, even if it’s one day a month or 10 weeks over the summer.  I also encourage those interested in anesthesia to apply to this awesome program. Finally, I want to give my greatest thanks to the TouroCOM-Harlem faculty and administration for their support for my participation in this program.