Training the Trainers Course on Postgraduate Medical Education
A three-day Training the Trainers Course (19th-21st November 2012) was organised in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (RoSS) and Dr Oromo, Consultant Pathologist in Juba and the Wessex Consortium as a starter towards the Basic Medical Training Programme. Tim Walsh led the team with Dr Rich Bregazzi, an Educationalist and Dr David Attwood, a Medical Registrar. There were 18 participants, who were Consultants in various specialties at Juba Teaching Hospital (see Figure 1).
figure 1
The objective was to provide the training that trainers would need to develop and deliver structured and validated postgraduate medical education in RoSS.
The programme was opened by the Minister of Health, Dr Michael Milli Hussein, the Undersecretary for Health, Dr Makur Kariom and the WHO Representative in Juba.
The first 21/2 days of the course covered areas such as educational roles and supervision, qualities of good trainers, workplace based learning, teaching techniques in different settings, appraisal and assessment and responding to underperformance but modified for the needs of trainers in South Sudan.
figure 2
The last afternoon was devoted to a plenary session on the practicalities of setting up Postgraduate Medical Education and Training for doctors in South Sudan. It was agreed that the local Consultants, supported by the Consortium and Juba Link, would develop a 2-year programme for newly qualified doctors aimed at providing the training necessary to enable them to work effectively at the District level, including providing supervision to the Medical Assistants. Much of the preliminary work has been done and this programme is planned to start in March/April 2013.
figure 3
In our view the Basic Medical Training Programme is a very important starting point. There is also a need to address the training needs of Medical Officers who have gone beyond the basic programme and in the longer term there will be the issue of specialist training. There was also a very strong desire for the development of a College of Physicians and Surgeons to have an over-arching role in the development of postgraduate medical education.
Overall, the course and the visit were extremely successful and generated much enthusiasm. We also had meetings with the University of Juba Medical School and the Minister of Health and there is very strong support locally at all levels for this initiative.
(Photos by David Attwood)
