Cool job: Dr. Pamela Paquet, anesthesiologist, Doctors Without Borders

Can you describe your current job? I am an anesthesiologist based in Quebec City working at CHU de Québec-Université Laval Hospital where I have a general practice more focused on pediatric and obstetric anesthesia. I have also been involved with Doctors Without Borders since 2021 and have done three assignments so far in South Sudan, Haiti and the Central African Republic. Right now, I am doing my fellowship in Global Anesthesia at Oxford University Hospitals (U.K.). What made you decide to do the Doctors Without Borders work? One of my biggest motivations for doing this kind of work is the vision of fighting against global inequities through my passion for global health and my expertise in anesthesiology. As anesthesiologists, we are an international community and I believe we can and should engage in worldwide teamwork. There is a lot of richness in sharing, learning and teaching in very diverse contexts. Can you share a challenging situation you encountered? I was in Bentiu, South Sudan, in a camp for internally displaced people seeking shelter from the extreme flooding and violence. We were providing emergency surgical care in specialized tents. Our team had one general surgeon and one anesthesiologist (me) on call 24/7 for seven weeks. We had several challenging C-sections. One of them involved a 20-year-old woman who came to us in a critical state. Her baby was already dead and she was barely conscious. I rushed to the operating theatre to save her, but when I called the blood bank, I was told they didn’t have her blood type available. The team came together urgently, putting all efforts into saving her and finally found her sister in the camp who luckily had the same blood type. She gave her blood to save her sister. That story is one of many that stayed with me after my assignment. I am still amazed by the resilience and strength of the people we treated in the camp. What qualities should someone have to do this kind of work? Flexibility, teamwork, leadership, creativity and communication skills are very helpful. The work is not easy and full of challenges, so you need strong motivation to keep you going through long hours, travels, basic accommodations, safety issues, low resources and adapting to cultural differences. That being said, it can also be extremely rewarding.

Cool job: Dr. Pamela Paquet, anesthesiologist, Doctors Without Borders

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