Mhoira Leng | |
---|---|
Born | 1963 |
Education | MBChB MRCP(UK) FRCP(Ed) and FRCP (Glas) |
Occupation | Palliative Care Specialist |
Known for | international development of palliative care |
Mhoira E.H. Leng (born 1963) FRSE MBChB MRCP(UK) FRCP(Ed and Glas) is one of the first Scottish specialists in palliative care, who has developed the palliative care services internationally, working in Eastern Europe, India and Africa and advises international institutions and agencies on palliative care in the developing world. [1] In 2021, Leng was admitted as one of the new female Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [2]
Leng studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen, graduating MBChB in 1987, and became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1990. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Glasgow) in 1999, and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh) in 2001. [1] Leng was employed for 10 years in the NHS in North East Scotland, as senior consultant and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and a clinical lead in palliative care developments. Leng then went on to work full time to develop palliative care internationally. [3]
Leng works with the global health Usher Institute [4] at the University of Edinburgh and at Makarere University, Kampala, Uganda is an associate faculty member and mentor to the international palliative care leadership initiative at the Institute for Palliative Medicine, San Diego Hospice, San Diego California, since 2010. She was one of the founders and is the Medical Director of Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust, [5] which is a registered charity based in Scotland. Leng is a board member of the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and advisor to the Mehac Foundation, India. [1]
Leng has worked with the Christian Medical College, Vellore India and the Emmanuel Hospitals Association, [5] as well as since1998, [3] in developing the palliative care models with the Makarere University and Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. [1]
Leng and Liz Grant's comparative work in defining palliative care for chronic conditions [6] was cited in the World Health Organisation's 2004 Global Atlas of Palliative Care. [7]
Her personal care for dying patients in Uganda is recognised by families and in the Aberdeen press she was quoted as saying:
“Listening and supporting what is important to that person and family even when time is short.” [8]
Leng was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021. [2]
Internal medicine, also known as general internal medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of internal diseases in adults. Medical practitioners of internal medicine are referred to as internists, or physicians in Commonwealth nations. Internists possess specialized skills in managing patients with undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes. They provide care to both hospitalized (inpatient) and ambulatory (outpatient) patients and often contribute significantly to teaching and research. Internists are qualified physicians who have undergone postgraduate training in internal medicine, and should not be confused with "interns", a term commonly used for a medical doctor who has obtained a medical degree but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised.
Palliative care is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Within the published literature, many definitions of palliative care exist. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes palliative care as
"an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual".
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia, advanced heart disease, and for HIV/AIDS, or long COVID in bad cases, rather than for injury. In popular use, it indicates a disease that will progress until death with near absolute certainty, regardless of treatment. A patient who has such an illness may be referred to as a terminal patient, terminally ill or simply as being terminal. There is no standardized life expectancy for a patient to be considered terminal, although it is generally months or less. An illness which is lifelong but not fatal is called a chronic condition.
Ásgeir R. Helgason is an Icelandic scientist working at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Since 2002 he has been an associate professor in psychology at the Departments of Oncology-Pathology and Public Health at the Karolinska Institutet and Reykjavik University, Iceland.
End-of-life care (EOLC) is health care provided in the time leading up to a person's death. End-of-life care can be provided in the hours, days, or months before a person dies and encompasses care and support for a person's mental and emotional needs, physical comfort, spiritual needs, and practical tasks.
Clinical clerkships encompass a period of medical education in which students – medical, dental, veterinary, nursing or otherwise – practice medicine under the supervision of a health practitioner.
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (ónkos), meaning "tumor", "volume" or "mass". Oncology is concerned with:
In general, quality of life is the perceived quality of an individual's daily life, that is, an assessment of their well-being or lack thereof. This includes all emotional, social and physical aspects of the individual's life. In health care, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an assessment of how the individual's well-being may be affected over time by a disease, disability or disorder.
Allow Natural Death (AND) is a medical term defining the use of life-extending measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). These orders emphasize patient comfort and pain management instead of life extension. Currently, American medical communities utilize "do not resuscitate," (DNR) orders to define patients' medical wishes. Those who propose to replace DNR with AND posit that DNR orders are ambiguous and require complex understanding between several parties, while AND orders are clearer. Proponents of replacing DNR with AND believe that AND terminology is more ethically conscientious DNR terminology. Research has been conducted regarding participant preference for AND vs. DNR terminology. The ease with which the terminology change can be practically incorporated depends on many factors such as costs and staff reeducation.
Celestino Obua is a Ugandan physician, pharmacologist, academic and academic administrator. He is the current Vice Chancellor of Mbarara University of Science and Technology. He assumed that position on Friday, 24 October 2014. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Principal of Makerere University College of Health Sciences.
Harriet Mayanja-Kizza is a Ugandan physician, researcher, and academic administrator. She is the former Dean of Makerere University School of Medicine, the oldest medical school in East Africa, established in 1924.
Margaret Mungherera was a senior consultant psychiatrist and medical administrator in Uganda. She served as the president of the Uganda Medical Association re-elected five times and ultimately the World Medical Association from October 2013 until October 2014. She advocated for psychiatric services throughout Uganda, beyond the capital, to improve conditions for Uganda's health-care providers and to get doctors organized in African countries in general.
Moses R Kamya, is a Ugandan physician, academic, researcher and academic administrator, who serves as Professor and Chair of the Department Medicine, Makerere University School of Medicine, a component of Makerere University College of Health Sciences.
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Elizabeth Grant is a Scottish academic who is an Assistant Principal and Director of the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh She is a researcher and educator in the areas of palliative care compassion and global health and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh and holds a chair in Global Health and Development.
Damalie Nakanjako, is a Ugandan specialist physician, internist, immunologist, infectious diseases consultant, academic and researcher, who serves as the Principal and Professor of Medicine at Makerere University College of Health Sciences. Immediately prior to her present position, she served as Dean of Makerere University School of Medicine, from 2019 until 17 February 2021.
Sonja Jayne McIlfatrick is a nurse and Professor in Nursing and Palliative Care and Dean of Ulster Doctoral College at Ulster University. She was the first non-American President of the International Network of Doctoral Education in Nursing.
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