Dr. Esther Chin, a faculty member at McMaster University and an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has made significant contributions to global health, driven by her early experiences in rural Rwanda.
During her first year of medical school, Chin traveled to Rwanda for a visiting elective at a remote hospital. The experience, where she witnessed pregnant women hiking for hours to receive medical care, had a profound impact on her career path. Before that summer, Chin was set on becoming a cardiac or neurosurgeon, but the challenges and tragedies she saw led her to pursue Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) instead, particularly with a focus on health equity.
Health Equity at the Core
Chin now dedicates her work to improving access to healthcare for underserved populations. Her career is driven by the belief that health equity—the idea that everyone deserves equal access to quality care—is at the heart of her work, whether she’s in Canada or traveling abroad. She continues to teach at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda and supports mobile workshops in Tanzania to help train professionals in safe C-sections and intrapartum care.
The STITCH Surgical Training Tool
A major project that Chin has been working on is STITCH—a surgical training tool designed to help clinicians practice postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) treatment. STITCH is unique because it’s portable, reusable, and affordable. It’s lightweight enough to fit into a suitcase, making it accessible to healthcare providers in low-resource settings.
The tool is designed with the input of OB/GYNs and biomedical engineers to ensure it’s realistic and effective. Its realistic anatomy, based on MRI scans of the female pelvis, offers a more accurate representation than older models, which often use homemade textiles.
The Importance of Global Surgery
Chin’s focus extends to global surgery, an academic field dedicated to improving access to affordable and timely surgical care worldwide. Global surgery examines the full range of barriers people face in getting surgery, from long travel times to poor hospital infrastructure.
Chin points to the drone infrastructure set up in Rwanda to deliver blood to remote hospitals. Blood can now be delivered in 25 minutes via drones, compared to the 2-hour wait using traditional transport methods. This innovative solution has saved lives by addressing gaps in healthcare access.
Launching a Graduate Program in Global Surgery
In addition to her clinical and teaching work, Chin is the founding program director of the Graduate Diploma in Global Surgery at the Mary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine at McMaster University. This new program focuses on training students to address the healthcare disparities that affect billions of people globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The program will bring together an interdisciplinary cohort of professionals, including engineers, business experts, policymakers, and healthcare providers, to tackle the systemic issues in surgical care systems. The online format of the program ensures it’s accessible to a global audience, overcoming barriers such as time zones and geographic limitations.
Chin is committed to offering bursaries to support students from LMICs, ensuring that the program remains accessible to those who will benefit the most from this education.
Full-Circle Moment in Chin’s Career
For Chin, the graduate diploma program represents a full-circle moment. What began as a deeply personal experience in rural hospitals has now evolved into an opportunity to train the next generation of global health leaders.
She says, “The experiences I had in those rural hospitals ignited my passion for health equity. Now, with this diploma, I have the privilege of empowering others to create innovative solutions for surgical care systems worldwide.”
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