By Dr. Abdoul Bachir Djibo Hamani
With Prof. Christian Samsonsen, head of
the department of neurology at St. Olav’s
Hospital
I was honored to be accepted to do a department visit at the prestigious Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) at the St.Olavs Hospital in the Department of Neurology in Trondheim in Norway.
For this I would like to express my sincere thanks to:
- The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) for this wonderful opportunity to acquire this new experience in the care of people suffering from neurological disease, especially to Jade Levy, who was in charge of the visit
- The Norwegian Neurological Association’s president, Prof. Anne Hege Aamodt
- All the staff of the Department of Neurology
- Prof. Christian Samsonsen, who was my training supervisor. Prof. Samsonsen had confidence in me and supported and encouraged me throughout the duration of my training.
- Dr. Elisabeth Kvisvik and Dr. Thanh Pierre Doan for having accepted me into this company and who have facilitated my relations with other colleagues in the departments of neurology, neurophysiology, and stroke.
- All my supervisors and colleagues who are too numerous to share our experiences. I spent an excellent stay in your company.
- The entire university hospital administration.
Planned from March 3-27, 2020, my program of visit of the neurology department at St. Olav’s Hospital actually lasted from March 3 to July 28, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, which made my return trip to Africa impossible.
During this stay, I had the opportunity to make daily visits to patients in the neurology department and also to participate in the outpatient consultation where I had the chance to strengthen my skills in the diagnosis and management of neurological pathologies, more specifically epilepsy. I also experienced a number of neurodegenerative and autoimmune pathologies, such as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and severe myasthenia gravis.
I also took part in botulinum toxin injections, upper occipital nerve block, and the performance and interpretation of electroencephalograms. I visited some fantastic places in the city and learned to speak Norwegian (Takk=thank you).
Since my return, I have performed several blocks of the upper occipital nerve, and I have been able to set up an electroencephalogram reading club for a better improvement of our electroencephalogram laboratory.
Our neurology department today has adopted several therapeutic protocols resulting from my stay in Norway.
I am sure that this experience will serve all of Africa in general and my country in particular. Thank you again. •
