Invictus

Well, I finished my Power Point presentation on Heart Failure, which should be an appropriate subject. Next is Cardiac Arrest. I suspect this is a rather futile subject relative to Africa, but education is the first step to successful performance. Michelle Haas, a physician who has a background in ID (AIDs specialty) has requested a rather ambitious lecture schedule, an I have hopefully prepared adequately to meet her expectations. I am unsure how sophisticated the group will be, as there are MOs with limited post-graduate education or experience, Penn residents, medical students from many centers of medical education, and faculty, who may or may not be interested in what I have to say. I think a review of BLS (Basic Life Support)would be very appropriate for this group, but ALS (Advanced Life Support) of questionable use. I'll also spend time on Valvular Heart Disease, which is not only one of my main interests, but also pertinent to patients presenting in Botswana, who will have a certain prevalence of rheumatic heart disease and chf.
Barbara and I spent a snowy afternoon at the movies. We watched Clint Eastwood's Invictus, starring and produced by Morgan Freeman. The story of Nelson Mandela, his instictive understanding of the need to heal his country after the horrors of apartheid, the story of his incredible gift to understand the value of forgiveness and moving forward, was compelling and inspiring. The scenes of southern Africa were exciting to see and made us even more eager to experience this part of the world.