like Operation Smile succeed, and Lex Sensenbrenner, CBET, certainly qualifies as one. Operation Smile, an organization that provides reconstructive surgery and related health care to indigent children and young adults in developing nations, typically needs about 40 people for one of its 2-week missions, according to Sensenbrenner, a researcher at the University of Southern California. The group’s primary role is to provide surgeries to repair cleft lip and cleft palate in children, but the group’s volunteers also provide training and education to help practitioners in developing nations become self-sufficient in a variety of health care disciplines. According to Sensenbrenner, who has participated in about 10 Operation Smile trips to countries including Cambodia, China, Colombia, Kenya and Thailand, this training often requires experienced clinical engineers and technicians to demonstrate the proper operation, care, and repair of medical devices. “A big piece of the experience is teaching. Clinical engineers are typically part of the first team that comes in to set up the physical structure and do initial screening of patients. Often starting from scratch in rooms with bare walls, you set up the equipment and the clinical environment, and supplement your facility with whatever equipment is already there,” said Sensenbrenner, who was a hospital clinical engineer for 16 years. “At the same time, you’re teaching the indigenous clinical and technical personnel about using and taking care of the equipment.” In addition to technicians, Sensenbrenner has taught nurses and anesthesiologists about proper equipment use and maintenance during Operation Smile journeys. During one of his more memorable experiences, Sensenbrenner participated in a mission that performed about 300 surgeries over a 2-week period. “It’s a pretty intensive effort, pretty exhausting, too,” Sensenbrenner said. “But Operation Smile has the process down to a science and it works very well.” Operation Smile, a private, non-profit organization, generally sends teams into the field every month and plans missions about 3 to 6 months in advance. The missions are funded through contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as grant proceeds. For more information about Operation Smile, visit www.operationsmile.org/. Click on the “Volunteer” link at the top of the home page for more information on how to participate, including an application form for becoming a volunteer. THE FIELD REPORT