Scaling up family medicine training in Gezira, Sudan – a 2-year in-service master programme using modern information and communication technology: a survey study

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2010 the Gezira Family Medicine Project (GFMP) was initiated in Gezira state, Sudan, designed as an in-service training model. The project is a collaboration project between the University of Gezira, which aims to provide a 2-year master’s programme in family medicine for practicing doctors, and the Ministry of Health, which facilitates service provision and funds the training programme. This paper presents the programme, the teaching environment, and the first batch of candidates enrolled.MethodsIn this study a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect baseline data at the start of the project from doctors who joined the programme. A checklist was also used to assess the health centres where they work. A total of 188 out of 207 doctors responded (91%), while data were gathered from all 158 health centres (100%) staffed by the programme candidates.ResultsThe Gezira model of in-service family medicine training has succeeded in recruiting 207 candidates in its first batch, providing health services in 158 centres, of which 84 had never been served by a doctor before. The curriculum is community oriented. The mean age of doctors was 32.5 years, 57% were males, and 32% were graduates from the University of Gezira. Respondents stated high confidence in practicing some skills such as asthma management and post-abortion uterine evacuation. They were least confident in other skills such as managing depression or inserting an intrauterine device. The majority of health centres was poorly equipped for management of noncommunicable diseases, as only 10% had an electrocardiography machine (ECG), 5% had spirometer, and 1% had a defibrillator.ConclusionsThe Gezira model has responded to local health system needs. Use of modern information and communication technology is used to facilitate both health service provision and training. The GFMP represents an example of a large-volume scaling-up programme of family medicine in Africa.

Postgraduate Medical Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review Spanning 26 Years and Lessons Learned

“…35,61 Programs also reported on suboptimal conditions in health facilities, including inadequately maintained equipment, unreliable drug supplies, and inconsistent availability of laboratory and radiology services. 36,55,69,75,96,98,110,111 Programs leveraged private sector health facilities and international partners to bridge these gaps. 7,55,63,75 Other publications described suboptimal educational resources, including textbooks and difficulty accessing online lectures and videos due to internet connectivity problems.…”

The impact of socially-accountable health professional education: A systematic review of the literature

“…Studies evaluating student placements in rural communities show positive impacts on student competencies; with rurally-based students doing at least as well, and many doing better in developing clinical skills than students studying in traditional, metropolitan hospital-based training sites (Satran et al 1993;Worley et al 2004aWorley et al , 2004bIputo & Kwizera 2005;Mohamed et al 2014).…”

“…Strong associations with rural practice are also found in SAHPE institutions which have a selection process that equitably selects applicants from rural areas and/or underserved populations and make it mandatory for their students to undertake extensive rural placements (Iputo 2008;Cristobal & Worley 2011;Reid et al 2011;Sen Gupta et al 2014;Mohamed et al 2014).…”

“…Just having a SAHPE institution in underserved areas means they are often providing health services where there were none before, with students supporting the local health system while on community placement (Omotara et al 2004;Cristobal & Worley 2012;Hudson et al 2012;Talib et al 2013). Evidence also shows having a long-term engagement with the same student is valued by patients (Hudson et al 2012), while further evidence suggests that orientating student learning around local community needs with a service component develops a health professional workforce able to meet local needs, which can impact positively on community health (Reid et al 2011;Talib et al 2013;Mohamed et al 2014). Indeed, in the Philippine region covered by ADZU-SOM, the under-five mortality has dropped from 89 per 1000 live births to just 8 per 1000 since the school's graduates first went to work in the region over 15 years ago (Cristobal & Worley 2012).…”

Assessment of the social accountability of the faculty of medicine at University of Gezira, Sudan

“…As mentioned earlier, a good example of usability is the University's family medicine programme in which 200 doctors were enrolled and allocated to rural health settings; 32% of these are University of Gezira graduates (10). Another example of usability is that 40% of the medical faculty staff are University of Gezira graduates; these school staff are offering curative services in the teaching hospitals in Medani city where the school is located.…”