Partnering to Amplify Pediatric Critical Care Medicine With Dr. Vanessa Denny

Editor’s note:

One of the ways Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia advances child health is to train future pediatric health leaders locally and globally, enhancing each trainee’s skill while also benefitting our collaborators in our backyard and around the world. CHOP has created several pathways for trainees to engage in global health, including international resident rotations, subspecialty training programs with global health tracks, and global health fellowships. Critical Care Fellow Vanessa Denny, MD, MS, answered a few questions about her subspecialty fellowship experience and how she has incorporated global health into her training. This interview was originally conducted and edited by Mazvita Rankin from the Global Health Center.

What drew you to Global Health and Pediatric Critical Care?

Vanessa Denny, MD, MS

Global health is an essential part of who I am, as I come from Caribbean roots and have extended family living in lower-resource environments with limited healthcare services. Before medical school, I completed a Master’s in Global Health and worked throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and West Africa. Throughout my travels and work overseas, many experiences have impacted me, but one continues to shape my global health efforts.

During one of my global health experiences in Ghana, while I was still a medical student, I cared for a baby with respiratory failure that I hand-ventilated for many hours due to the lack of available ventilators. This experience helped me understand the daily triaging choices providers in limited-resource settings must make. It also made me reflect on the patients themselves; millions of children globally don’t have access to the health resources they need.

What made you choose CHOP for your Critical Care fellowship training?

The PICU at CHOP is an incredible place to train. The people in our department are phenomenal. We are fortunate to work in a diverse community where we encounter a wide variety of pathology, which strengthens our training. In addition, the department is committed to training us to be superb intensivists and supports our academic and research endeavors.

How have you integrated Global Health into your fellowship training?

As a medical student, I was fortunate to be introduced to Dr. John Appiah at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. He took me under his wing and allowed me to spend my medical school breaks working with him, and I continued to work with him throughout the years. When I entered fellowship, I integrated my global health passion and love for critical care into my academic scholarly work. My current research, “Resuscitation Education and Acute Care Help (REACH),” is based in Kumasi, Ghana. It aims to address sepsis and septic shock, which are among the leading causes of death in children globally.

With support from Digital Design Specialist Kyle Cassidy, we leveraged Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication expertise to develop an online simulation platform that allows us to present and teach from real-life cases (tele-simulation) of Ghanaian children admitted or treated for sepsis or septic shock. The platform is used weekly to review cases with the residents and nurses, focusing on identifying and managing patients with sepsis and providing teaching tailored to their environment.

With mentorship support from Dr. John Appiah in Ghana and Dr. Vinay Nadkarni here at CHOP, I have expanded the project in ways I couldn’t have imagined. When we started, KATH was our primary study site, but we have now added Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Tamale Teaching Hospital in the northern region of Ghana, and one hospital in Nigeria.

I've been very fortunate to have met people like Dr. Andrew Steenhoff, medical director of the Global Health Center; my program directors, Dr. Donald Boyer and Dr. Samuel Rosenblatt; and my wonderful mentor, Dr. Nadkarni, who has been such an advocate for me. He supports my vision and ideas, and so much of my success is because of him. Being the first Critical Care fellow to develop and implement a Global Health project as my primary academic project has been a rewarding learning process. Thinking about paving the way for future Critical Care fellows interested in Global Health is exciting, and I look forward to seeing how the project will positively impact lives in Ghana and beyond.

What advice would you give to other subspecialty fellows interested in Global Health?

I think it’s essential to educate yourself about other cultures, stay informed about global health issues and trends, and be open to continuous learning because things are constantly changing. Find opportunities to network and collaborate with others in the field. Volunteering and being flexible and open-minded are also important. You also need to have the drive and passion for making a difference, but it's equally important to be humble and understand what it means to partner with others.

Take advantage of networking opportunities like the Annual CHOP Pediatric Global Health Conference (2024 Conference). If you are interested in Critical Care, the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies is an excellent organization to join. You can also look into other programs, even if your specific program doesn't have a Global Gealth track. Look for opportunities within your hospital and through colleagues and friends engaged in Global Health.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

It’s part of my mission and vision as a provider to ensure that critical care can get to everybody, not just those within my reach, or those within the United States. It’s my long-term career goal to empower communities to implement programs to improve pediatric outcomes. I want to do my part to ensure there's equity for everyone, no matter where they are born, where they live, or their socioeconomic status. Everyone deserves access to critical care resources, so I plan to do as much as possible to help make it a reality.