I hate goodbyes!

Today was our last day in clinic due to the holiday starting tommorrow. It was sad- I really do hate goodbyes! All of my patients wanted my contact information- questionable whether for VISA opportunities or really just to keep in touch. It was also difficult to say goodbye to the staff at the hospital. They have all been so welcoming and hospitable. Over the course of the two weeks it’s been a great growth into collaboration across cultures. The first few days were difficult- we learned that we were the first American PT students to ever come to the hospital. But, as we got to know eachother it turned into a fantastic learning experience for both sides. We took turns doing inservices in the afternoons- the Ethiopian PT’s taught us about unhealed fracture management that is so common here and we did inservices on low back pain and spinal manipulations. There was a clear difference between our schooling background and theirs and we noticed many discrepancies in information. We had many great discussions about evidence-based practice and the future of PT in Ethiopia. Currently, the only PT school is in the town of Gonder, but it looks like in the next year there will be a PT school at Addis Ababa University- ran out of Black Lion Hospital. Even more exciting- there are some passionate individuals who are aiming to make it a DPT program! My professors had many meetings while we were here in order to build on partnerships and we are hopeful that this country will make great strides in the advancement of the field in upcoming months. Regis University, a PT school in Switzerland and the Ethiopians will be working together to get this program going. There are many obstacles unique to this country – the government, financial resources, technological resources, educational resources, etc. – but we are hopeful that the future will be bright when it comes to PT. As the Ethiopians always say, “We will hope.”