Today, nearly 150 people gathered in the bright, newly renovated lecture hall at the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Chisinau for a full-day medical symposium. The U.S. physicians, including project partners from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Va., gave vivid detail about family practice in the United States. Moldovan physicians shared the stage, describing their struggles and triumphs as the development of family medicine continues in the Republic of Moldova.
Friday, February 22
Symposium time in Chisinau
This woman, in her starched white apron, serves hot tea, coffee and pastries during a break.
This physician in the PRO-SAN Clinic near Chisinau shows the delegation where some of the medicines delivered in October are stored.
Medical students, university faculty, physicians and other health professionals snatched up earphones as they checked into the symposium, which was conducted in simultaneous translation between Romanian and English. Two Romanian translators, sequestered in an enclosed booth to the right of the stage, shared that duty throughout the long day. The event began at 9 a.m. with opening remarks by AAFP Past President Bruce Bagley, M.D., of Albany, N.Y.:
"You have already seen and used some of the medication that we sent in October. Today, we want to deliver something far more important. Today, we bring knowledge to help you, and we bring hope for the future of family medicine. These things will last long after the pills are gone."
"You have already seen and used some of the medication that we sent in October. Today, we want to deliver something far more important. Today, we bring knowledge to help you, and we bring hope for the future of family medicine. These things will last long after the pills are gone."
These medical students listen intently as the American physicians speak.
During an afternoon break, American and Moldovan physicians form a circle to chat in the hallway.
FPs Laurie O'Neill, M.D., of Portsmouth, Va.; David Massanari, M.D., of Shapleigh, Maine; Hai Jin Kim, M.D., of Annandale, Va.; and Elizabeth Burns, M.D., of Oak Park, Ill., take their turn listening in the audience before their presentations later in the day.
Two medical students share a headset to listen to the simultaneous translation of the symposium sessions. The crowd outnumbered the available headsets.
The celebration banquet on Friday, held in a grand hall owned by the Moldovan government, drew many toasts of thanks and friendship.
