Tunisia Veterinary School Workshop

The day after our intensive community event in Mashreq Shams, we prepared for our workshop at the Sidi Thabet School of Veterinary Medicine. Tricia worked on the slide presentation for her lecture, while Jaber made sure the logistics were in order. 

Early Tuesday morning we drove to the school with our slides, tools, and high hopes of a successful workshop for a group of about 25 senior students. The topics were an overview of our project in Tunisia, body condition scoring, equine dental care and the basics of hoof trimming. Dr. Emna Brour, our cheerful new donkey welfare champion, joined us for the workshop and took many of the photos.

We laid out all our tools and the anatomy lab loaned us skulls and lower limbs. We had a very motivated and attentive group and a special guest - a donkey who waited patiently to be the star of the morning. Tricia spoke slowly in English and by the expression on the students' faces, she could tell they understood what she was saying. They politely asked thoughtful questions and nodded in reply to her comments. Jaber was always ready to clarify any confusion by explaining in Arabic.

We had a great room for the slide show and live animal demonstration

the quietest member of the class listens to Tricia with one ear

Tricia was a happy speaker with an engaged audience

After a review of anatomy and function of equine teeth/jaw and the consequences of pathology, the procedure of dental floating to reduce sharp points was explained and we passed around the tools. We used the donkey we had seen in Mashreq Shams with the severe tooth hooks and cheek abscess as a case presentation.

Jaber demonstrates filing the teeth on a skull

We took a break from the lecture format to have a demonstration and student hands-on dental filing practice with the donkey who was waiting so quietly.

Tricia explains the 'two finger and a thumb' technique of gently grasping the tongue to make the oral exam easier

the students were eager to try this new skill and were quick to be proficient at it...

and they remembered to make friends with the donkey first and that the tongue is not to be used as a handle

these young professionals stayed focused on the demonstration of floating

...and most of them had a chance to give the floating a try (Emna looks on in the background)

We gathered again for the lecture on hoof anatomy, pathology, and trimming. We had several good before and after pictures from the cases we had seen in Tataouine to demonstrate the importance of hoof care, and how easy it is to control overgrowth and cracks.

The students appreciated Jaber demonstrating the tools with the anatomy specimens and he explained some of the finer details in Arabic.

To finish up the lecture, we discussed their options for acquiring dental and hoof tools, including  finding local blacksmiths to craft tools at a reasonable price. We encouraged them to use online resources to look at dental and hoof tools and procedures as well as studying the fine art of determining an equine's age by its teeth.

When we moved back to the donkey for the hands-on experience, the students had not lost their enthusiasm for the workshop and remained very engaged in learning. Jaber started with demonstrating the trim...

 Then he provided close guidance as the first students practiced a trim with the nippers.

It didn't take long for the students confidence to grow and they were on their own, rasping while we stayed nearby.

We all had such a wonderful experience sharing and learning. Many of the students thanked us personally for the interactive workshop and gave us positive feedback. They liked the alternating format of lecture with hands-on work and they enjoyed learning something new while having the opportunity to practice in the same day on a real animal. The demonstration helped fill in the bits they missed due to the language issues. Ideally, in the future, we would like to invite more students and have additional animals to work on.

It was hard to leave but the students had to get back to their clinic duties and our guest donkey's teeth and feet were treated.

Shadi bids us goodbye and thank you on behalf of his classmates

We'd worked up quite an appetite, which was taken care of at a local barbeque venue. In the style of veterinary case presentations, complete with before and after pictures, here's a view of our lunch.

By this last week in Tunisia, Tricia has let go of her food hygiene standards...especially when she's hungry and the vendor has such a nice smile - she doesn't care if the meat was refrigerated or whether he washed his hands or when the last time the butcher block was bleached !

"Before"... (well, actually since we were so hungry, we'd already started before the photo could be taken)

"After"... coke, grilled sheep, sausages, bread and tunisian pepper salad...ALL GONE!

As we left Sidi Thabet, we had to stop the truck for a large herd of sheep crossing the road to graze in an olive tree grove.

We headed home with a very satisfied feeling - sharing skills with future colleagues, having a delicious local lunch and seeing a healthy herd of sheep enjoying their day - pure veterinary joy.

Local faces of Mashreq Shams, Kasserine

A description of our day in Mashreq Shams would not be complete without showcasing some of the people we met. These beautiful faces reflect the history and tenacity of the region in a backdrop of many challenges and political uncertainty.

The faces were a reminder to Tricia, the 'sheltered and not very well traveled ' American, that people find purpose and joy within their own cultural context. There are commonalities that all humans have. Parents love their children; kids crave connections and love to laugh; women gather together to share; husbands and wives have their private conversations; and strangers are curious about each other. As veterinarians, we notice animals can often be found as a delicate thread weaving these relationships together.

The pictures from our iphones and GoPro screen shots may not make the cover of National Geographic. Nonetheless, we think when you look at these photos, you will appreciate what we experienced in person. (click on the photo for fuller screen view)

Donkey doctors on duty

The dry empty landscape of Mashreq Shams is not particularly inviting. The mountains in the distance no doubt have frightening military stories to tell. Sparse rows of olive trees and cactus seem perfectly content by themselves. Equine carts with drivers intent on their destination ignore our truck passing by. Amine reminds us this is a challenging community to work with as he points out the fortressed well that had its automatic pump stolen. Nonetheless, we were keen to get to the site; veterinarians have a reputation for being a scrappy clan that are not easily deterred.

a barren landscape says 'there's nothing to stop here for'

An empty building behind the school was designated as our workspace, but as we got closer we saw there was no one waiting for us. Amine said "don't worry, they'll come" and he made a few phone calls.

the walled off school with our work site in the distance

We had a meeting at the back of the truck and waited...

One donkey arrived and we took the time for a demonstration...

students and owner focus on Tricia as she explains hoof trim

When we looked up...we were a little overwhelmed with the number of donkeys and people that appeared and kept coming.

welcome patients and their people suddenly appeared from all directions

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a long line of Mashreq Shams' donkeys wait to be treated

Twice as many donkeys came to the event as we had anticipated and our well laid plans initially got jumbled as we started to work. So many donkeys, so many curious owners eager to see why we were there and what we had to offer. It was difficult to know how much time to spend on each donkey and who to treat next when so many were waiting.

 It is always a pleasure to work with capable people who know how to step up to remedy a chaotic situation and create a system. Amine started an ordered list of owners and Jaber regrouped the teams into two separate work areas. Case by case we tended to the donkeys and made connections with the owners - men, women and children.

Jaber shows a young handler how to gently grasp the tongue to ease looking inside the mouth

Emna gets information from a women dressed in a stylish ensemble

this little guy preferred to stay on his donkey's back during the exam as his mother looks on

The veterinary students wasted no time in proving their professional capabilities and using their new dental and farriery skills.

Zouhair's confidence and smile work magic on the donkeys and the owners

Shadi and Lina use their kind and professional communication skills to give husbandry suggestions to the owners

Ahmed's calm nature easily gains the confidence of two boys as he shows them how to feel the sharp teeth points

Amine (our community development host), who is a drilling engineer, decided to experience being a veterinarian. By the smile on his face, we think he may have missed his calling as a donkey farrier.

Amine, the new hoof engineer

The many donkeys provided an opportunity for us to help each other with challenging cases.

By the end of the day, we'd lost the exact count of the number of donkeys we treated but we know it was at least 48. Our group's good dynamics made the day a success for the donkeys, the community and the team.

teamwork !

 On the next post, we'll highlight some of the interesting cases we saw and the response of the community.