The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

A young Bahamian doctor is hoping that all the knowledge she acquired during a recent observership programme will go a long way in helping to improve the public accident and emergency department at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Dr Ketroya Oliver, 29, an emergency room physician at PMH, participated in an observership programme at the Baptist Health Hospital of South Florida in Miami last month.

She spent a month rotating through the emergency department at the hospital, observing many interventional procedures not yet readily available in the Bahamas.

Dr Oliver is a graduate of Queen’s College High School and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Psychology with Honours from the University of Tampa in 2007. She is also a medical school graduate of the University of the West Indies.

As a young physician working in the emergency room, Dr Oliver said she is constantly looking for ways to improve the current system of the department.

“This led me to look at the emergency room at Baptist Health of Miami which is known for very short wait times and excellent patient satisfaction,” she told Tribune Health.

Dr Oliver became acquainted with a nurse from Baptist Health who encouraged and advised her about the observership programme.

“A wonderful Bahamian nurse by the name of Rose Rahming who works for Baptist Health of South Florida intrigued me with the concept of the observership programme to gain experience in first world emergency medicine. She later introduced me to Dr Rogelio Ribas who invited me to participate as soon as I was available,” she said.

During the observership, Dr Oliver also met Dr Sergio Segarra, the chief of the emergency department, who gave much insight into the speciality of emergency medicine and the dynamics of Baptist Health Hospital’s efficiency protocols.

“I learned about the new illness approach strategies in the emergency room that I hope one day will be in place for the Bahamian public. For example, when a patient comes in with a stroke, an entire stroke team is activated in the emergency department to ensure that the best outcome is afforded to the patient to avoid long lasting neurological consequences. Another team is devoted for cardiac emergencies, trauma and other life-threatening disorders. I was amazed at how these teams interacted and worked so cohesively towards the patient’s best outcome.

“Of course I realise that staffing and infrastructure presents specific challenges for PMH, however, I hope that we can one day overcome these barriers to become similar tertiary care institution,” she said.

A highlight for Dr Oliver during the observership was an agreement made by Dr Christian Kokinakos, the assistant chief of the emergency department, to an ongoing partnership with the Bahamas through physicians like Dr Oliver to provide emergency telemedicine consults for the Bahamian public, with special emphasis on the Family Island clinics.

“Baptist Health of South Florida has a foundation which can be used for donations of speciality equipment. For example, there is a hand-held machine similar to a glucometer used by diabetics. This device is called an I-Stat and is used to measure breakdown products of heart muscle, for example Troponin, and can tell with only a finger prick of blood the likelihood of an acute coronary event. This would be most beneficial in the Out Islands where blood work is not available to complete the work up of a myocardial infarction. This machine could be available at the major clinics through this partnership with Baptist Health of South Florida,” she said.

Dr Oliver is hoping to participate in more programmes that will help the department at PMH offer more efficient care in future.