Beatrice Im
Dr. Beatrice Im of New York Presbyterian hospital will join the BMC department of obstetrics and gynecology for two years beginning this July.
Currently completing her fourth year of residency in obstetrics and gynecology at New York Presbyterian hospital, Dr. Beatrice Im will travel to Mwanza in July to work for two years at Bugando Medical Centre. Beatrice cites the great health needs of the developing world as an important factor that inspired her study of medicine, and motivated her to take a position at Bugando.
While this will be Beatrice’s first visit to Tanzania, a trip to Niger in December of 2006 with the International Organization for Women and Development exposed Beatrice to the realities of providing healthcare in a resource-poor setting. Accompanying a Weill Cornell physician trained in fistula repair, Beatrice traveled to Niamey, Niger to assist with the surgical treatment of the countless women there suffering from obstetric fistula.
Obstetric fistula is a debilitating condition in which a rupture occurs between the birth canal and bladder or colon as a result of several days of obstructed labor. Fistula afflicts hundreds of thousands of women each year in Africa and throughout the developing world, and is most common in younger women whose pelvises have not fully developed, or whose growth was stunted due to malnutrition. The majority of women who develop fistula are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities due to the incontinence that results from this condition, as well as their inability to bear more children.
As Beatrice writes, “You can hardly imagine that such a thing exists in this day and age of modern obstetrics and gynecology, especially coming from a place like New York City.” Despite the many practical obstacles that challenged her work in Niger, Beatrice remained determined and motivated in her work.
As Beatrice heads to Bugando in July, we are confident that her experience and positive attitude will serve her well as she joins the BMC obstetrics department. At Bugando, Beatrice will have the benefit of working with BMC Director Dr. Majinge, who is a renowned ob/gyn and expert in fistula repair. Reducing maternal mortality is one of the highest priorities of Dr. Majinge, and Beatrice looks forward to working with the BMC doctors to tackle this problem.
“Despite seemingly adverse conditions, we learned to improvise. We learned to use what resources we had. The important lesson from all this was never to be discouraged by a lack of resources. We could not always help our patients in the ways we wanted but our presence showed the women that there are people who are committed to them. The small changes we make are sometimes the small pebbles that start the avalanche. Often it’s the promise of change that is as important as the actual change itself. It’s the type of commitment to change I believe Weill Cornell and the Touch Foundation are bringing to Tanzania and it is something I have wanted to be a part of for some time now.”