"It is important for learners to understand the practice, the history and pitfalls, and the theory of global work.”
--- Marcel Durieux, MD, PhD
Dr. Marcel Durieux, Emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, continues to devote his time to training the next generation of global health leaders through Global Partnership Essentials. The aim of Global Partnership Essentials is to prepare students for effective and culturally competent engagement in global activities. It achieves this mission by providing learners with a comprehensive background in Global Health theory, key issues, and culturally appropriate practice. Meetings are monthly at the Center for Global Health Equity. The group typically discusses 1-2 landmark articles, often from the Partners in Health Engage Curriculum, but also papers from UVA international partnerships. It supplements this training with lectures by guests from different specialties and institutions, as well as global partners, such as collaborators from Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and other locations. The course has now evolved to a credit-bearing course that is listed in Global Studies as GSGS 3559 with Dr. Kamila Esfahani, in the Department of Anesthesiology, and Dr. Cornelius Normeshie, in the Department of Family Medicine, joining as faculty co-leads.
International work began for Dr. Durieux in Tanzania in 2008 when asked to evaluate the anesthesia and intensive care components of a neurosurgery training program at Haydom Lutheran Hospital. Dr. Durieux said, “I had no experience in global health prior to this, with the exception that I trained in medicine in Europe.” Haydom Lutheran Hospital and the Haydom Global Health Research Centre has now become a multi-faceted partner with UVA in child development, undernutrition, and tuberculosis research funded through decades of work by the Gates Foundation and US National Institutes of Health, and clinical care across the hospital and affiliated clinics with UVA staff and trainees. This initial experience in Tanzania for Dr. Durieux became foundational for a career in service to others, ranging from working with Doctors Without Borders in the Central African Republic during the civil war to participating in the anesthesiology training program in Rwanda. Dr. Durieux said “Since my first experience in Tanzania in 2008, I have spent roughly a month of each year teaching anesthesiology and intensive care in Africa.”
These experiences have allowed him to mentor students and trainees from the University of Virginia and other institutions, which for him has been an immense honor. Dr. Durieux expresses that there is great joy in mentoring students in global work, he said, “they have no idea what to expect or what they will gain from the experience.” Through the process of guiding their global engagement, Dr. Durieux can ease them through this transition, watch them learn and grow through the experience, and return with a greater understanding of global challenges that will alter and shape their futures.
Through this process of guiding students through global experiences, Dr. Durieux recognized that there was a gap between students’ interest in international work and experience abroad. Dr. Durieux said, “there was not a solid, long-term training program at the University of Virginia that prepared students to engage in global work, yet it is important for learners to understand the practice, the pitfalls, and the history and theory of this work.” Dr. Durieux realized that he made many errors along the way, and that there are issues and solutions that look clear when starting out, but that with more understanding become increasingly complicated and murky.
Global Partnership Essentials provides students with an opportunity to learn, challenge ideas, and reflect on global health work. Dr. Durieux started this initiative alongside Dr. Eva Otoupalova, in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, with as its primary goal to reduce the chances that students traveling for global activities will make grave mistakes while ensuring that their experiences are robust and fulfilling. Dr. Scott Heysell, Director of the Center for Global Health Equity relates, “We could not be more grateful for Dr. Durieux’s contributions to the training program, now in its third year, Global Partnership Essentials has increased the resources available to students for preparation, delivery of care or research in an unfamiliar community, and reflecting upon these privileged collaborations with incredible maturity.”
While Global Partnership Essentials has seemed like a natural fit for Dr. Durieux, he admits that many of his career decisions have been spontaneous. Dr. Durieux specialized in Anesthesiology through a residency at the University of Virginia. The reason that he ended up in Charlottesville was that he pursued a research elective for several months here while in medical school at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. It was the first time he had engaged with Anesthesiology, but at the end of those months, he was set on coming back for specialty training. And that’s what happened. After retiring from Anesthesiology 6 years ago, he now does Primary Care at the Charlottesville Free Clinic and sees patients there twice a week.
Outside of his work at the Free Clinic and with Global Partnership Essentials, Durieux spends time with his family. He and his wife are lucky to have their daughter, and three young children live next door. As he says, “I’m a full-time opa (the Dutch word for grandfather).” Outside of spending time with family, he enjoys beekeeping. He typically has about 4 to 10 hives on his property in town. Together with Anita Impagliazzo, a beekeeper colleague, he is set to publish his first beekeeping book this Fall.
Dr. Durieux has approached all his endeavors with a curious and generous spirit. He is a phenomenal contribution to the offerings that the Center for Global Health Equity provides.