Advanced life support in obstetrics in Ecuador: teaching the teachers.

The advanced life support in obstetrics (ALSO) course is designed to help maternity care providers prepare for obstetrical emergencies. A team of 12 US physicians and a medical interpreter recently taught the ALSO course in Ecuador, with the goal of addressing Ecuador’s high maternal and infant mortality rates. To have a greater impact, a teach-the-teacher model was used so that Ecuadorian physicians can now hold their own ALSO courses. In the process of implementing the courses, valuable lessons were learned which can be applied to future ALSO courses in developing countries and in the United States. (J Am Board Fam Pract 2004;17:276 – 82.) “Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” Following this proverbial advice, a teachthe-teacher model was used when 12physicians and a medical interpreter went to Ecuador in February 2003 to teach the advanced life support in obstetrics (ALSO) course. This article describes why the ALSO course was chosen, how Ecuador was chosen, how the courses were implemented, and what lessons might be useful for organizers of future international and US ALSO courses.