Volunteer Reflection: Dr. Mary Ann Zetes: Pediatrician and FAME Board Member
Dr. Zetes during a training session.
The FAME doctors at Dr. Zetes training. Joining them is Dr. Michael Rubenstein (left).
Dr. Zetes explaining a point.
Dr. Zetes just finished two weeks of volunteering at FAME. A seasoned pediatrician with over 30 years of experience in California, Dr. Zetes has been involved with FAME since 2017. Her good friend, Nurse Barb Dehn (OB/GYN, FAME board member/long-term volunteer), introduced her. Dr. Zetes and Nurse Barb worked together in the same community.
“I always thought of volunteering in another country, but I was raising three kids and working in a very busy private practice, so it was overwhelming to think about it. When Nurse Barb returned from FAME, I was thinking of winding down my career, my three children were grown and had moved out of the house and I thought I can do this!”
Dr. Zetes and Nurse Barb came to FAME in 2017, 2018 and 2019, staying two to three weeks each time. In March 2020, they had planned to return to FAME, but the pandemic hit and all travel was suspended. September 2022 is the first time she has been back since the pandemic.
Dr. Zetes joined the FAME board a few months before she retired. Since then, she has been passionate about FAME and is impressed with the work that the FAME team does.
“At FAME, everyone works together despite having limited resources available to save lives. FAME provides an amazing service to people without or with limited access to quality healthcare.”
Dr. Zetes has experienced FAME’s transformation through the years. For example, FAME had a Maternal and Newborn Health program but no maternity center when she first visited. Today, FAME has a 24-bed Maternity Center with a Level 2 Nursery, operating room and four delivery rooms.
“It is a big change! The maternity center even has the nasal C-pap machine, which is being utilized perfectly and babies who would otherwise have not survived are leaving fine and healthy.”
Dr. Zetes is impressed with how much the FAME staff care and will go the extra mile to provide the best care to its patients. She mentioned when a premature baby did not attend their scheduled check-up. The staff was worried as it is imperative that the baby undergoes frequent checkups and that their progress is monitored. The nurses called the mother and to their delight, the baby had been to FAME, but on this visit, he came under his name and not his mother’s, which he used when he was born. The mother was happy to talk to the nurse and was grateful for the staff's concern even after her discharge from FAME.
“In the US, with all the availability of and easy access to advanced technology, the medical staff may not necessarily go the extra mile to ensure that the care provided is patient-centered. What is best for the patient should be the goal, not what is easiest for the doctor or nurse.”
Dr. Zetes also has some advice for anyone interested in volunteering at FAME.
“My biggest advice to volunteers is once you get to FAME, sit back, listen and see how the team is handling things, as they may not have the equipment you are used to back home. Over time, you create a relationship and build trust and your suggestions will be well received and the team will seek your input into cases.”
Dr. Zetes explains that volunteer doctors learn so much from the FAME doctors, and this exchange of information is priceless. The FAME team has local experience and is knowledgeable in handling situations better than a western trained doctor in this environment. At FAME, you also encounter diseases you may not have experienced back home.
“Before I came to FAME, I had never seen rabies, anthrax, or gonococcal conjunctivitis (GC).”
Education and capacity building are significant components of FAME’s volunteer program and volunteers often lead training and seminars for the FAME team.
“I was not a professor, I was a doctor in private practice, so I was a little nervous about giving a PowerPoint presentation and being up in front of the crowd. I like it now, as the people at FAME are warm, welcoming and not critical. It was great fun to share the knowledge I have gathered over the years. I did not have to do a massive research project to give a presentation; I could speak from my experience. It was beneficial to have worked with the team for a while, so I knew what kind of information they could benefit from.”
Asked to describe FAME in one word, Dr. Zetes says, “Impressive!”
“When you come to FAME, you are impressed by the annual budget and what FAME can accomplish with that little money. FAME is saving lives. The donations go directly to the patient’s care. It feels good to know FAME is meticulous about how they spend the money donated.”