SETU's Jennifer McKittrick, lecturer on the University's Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Sports Rehabilitation and Athletic Therapy course, alongside Roisin Rooney, a graduate of the course in 2018, recently travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam, with the global charity, Operation Walk, that delivers hip and knee replacement surgeries to those in need.
Operation Walk is an American-based charity that performs both hip and knee replacements in third world countries, where these life changing operations are not available. It was founded in 1996 in Los Angeles and has expanded to form 15 separate chapters in North America alone.
The Irish branch of the charity is called Operation Walk Ireland. This year, the Irish branch sent a team of approximately 70 Irish doctors, nurses, physios, and support staff travelled to Hanoi where 60 joint replacements were performed in a week.
Speaking about the experience, Jennifer McKittrick said,
"I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to take part in this medical mission to Vietnam. It was a week of hard work with 10 hour-days in the hospital, but very rewarding. The patients were very immobile prior to their surgeries and had significant loss of quality of life as a result. They would not have had access to this life-changing surgery if it were not for Operation Walk. They were all very emotional when we were saying our goodbyes"
Jennifer continued,
"Another aspect of the trip was the opportunity to meet our Vietnamese counterparts and exchange professional knowledge and experience with them. We gave a lecture to the Vietnamese physios and rehabilitation doctors on our patient management pathways for joint replacement rehabilitation; while the Irish surgeons were teaching their Vietnamese counterparts on surgical techniques. Further to this, being able to share these experiences and insights with our students back here at SETU is a unique opportunity to enrich their education and highlight the opportunities available to them beyond graduation."
