Undergraduate engineering student clinical

immersion experiences:

Outcomes and management of expectations

Sienko, K. H.1, Danso, K. A.2, Opare-Addo, H. S.2, Odoi, A.T.2, Obed,

S.3, Huang-Saad, A.1, Sabet Sarvestani, A.1, Effah Kaufmann, E.4,

Anderson, F. W. J.5, Johnson, T. R. B.5

1 University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, USA2 Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, Kumasi, Ghana3 Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, Accra, Ghana4 University of Ghana – Legon Campus, Biomedical Engineering Department Accra, Ghana5 University of Michigan, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ann Arbor, USA

Motivation: Engineers in clinics

Need for educational programs that:

• Advance our capability to address essential health care challenges

• Train a new generation of engineers who can collaborate with

stakeholders to define problems, and develop and implement solutions

Building on Existing Partnerships

Outcomes: Engineering Education

• Gain an understanding of the local and broader

contexts of design

• Co-identify unmet needs

• Formulate needs statements

• Apply and further develop design ethnography

skills

• Establish intercultural and interdisciplinary

communication skills

• Develop clinical literacy

• Design for real-world problems

Outcomes: Clinical

• Foster cross-fertilization between disciplines

(between and within institutions)

• Foster an innovative mindset among healthcare

providers

• Foster long-term potential for some of the

students to become medical device industry

leaders and entrepreneurs focused on the design,

development, and implementation of

technological solutions for low-resource settings

Additional Outcomes

• Research collaborations

– Grant funding

– Publications

• Capacity building

– Post-doctoral training in the health sciences

– Innovative design process

• Programmatic changes at host institutions

Challenges

• Misunderstanding of mission“Who are you, again, and what are you doing here?”

• Unrealistic expectations

� Prototypes versus products

• Failed communication/inadequate information

• Feelings of exploitation

Best Practices

• Long-term partnerships based on mutual

respect, understanding, and transparency

• Management of expectations among all

participants, including students and

healthcare staff and providers

• Engagement of local engineering faculty and

students

• Extensive pre-departure training

• Project selection