Work With Us
Index:
Lesotho Fellows, Residents, and Medical Students
Fellows, residents, and medical students from Boston University and Boston Medical Center have been serving as clinical volunteers in Lesotho since February 2004. Since that time, more than 60 medical students and residents and fellows from the Departments of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Emergency Medicine have completed rotations in Lesotho. Rotations are based at two hospitals located in the north of Lesotho: Maluti Adventist Hospital and Motebang District Hospital.
In support of LeBoHA’s grant-funded activities, two BU faculty are based full-time at Motebang Hospital in Leribe and three adjunct faculty are based at Maluti Adventist Hospital in Berea. These faculty provide training and mentorship to residents (called registrars in Lesotho) participating in the MOHSW-LeBoHA Family Medicine Specialty Training Program that was launched in January 2008 as the country’s first post-graduate specialty training program. We are hopeful that visiting fellows, residents, and students will take advantage of the opportunity to learn alongside local counterparts and further contribute to the development of these two training sites as institutions of learning.
Space for volunteers at the two hospitals is limited. As we would like to ensure that you will have adequate opportunity for pairing with residents and will be present during a teaching block that matches your interests and fits with the overall program, we ask that you contact us 6 months in advance and have some flexibility with regard to the timing of your travel.
If you are interested, please submit a statement of interest, an updated CV, and your intended dates of travel via e-mail to Brian Miller at bmiller@bu.edu. We do require that you are able to commit to at least 4 weeks of clinical work and you are responsible for covering all expenses. To learn more about the experience of our clinical volunteers, please refer to our orientation manual.
Lesotho Faculty Physicians
The Family Medicine Specialty Training Program provides a unique opportunity for volunteer faculty to contribute both through direct clinical services as well as through teaching of the program registrars. Because of the long-term nature of our program and the continuous need for teaching, this program provides an especially unique opportunity for faculty interested in returning regularly to an international site. Because a lot of planning goes into the training schedule, it is important that we coordinate the timing of faculty visits carefully so as to maximize the impact of your time in Lesotho. Volunteer faculty are responsible for covering all expenses. Please contact Brian Miller (bmiller@bu.edu) with your interest. To learn more about the experience of our clinical volunteers, please refer to our orientation manual.
Lesotho Public Health Interns
The Lesotho-Boston Health Alliance (LeBoHA) has been working for just over 2 years with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to implement a 5-year program for the sustainable strengthening of district hospitals and their associated health centers through both clinical and management development to increase the return and retention of Basotho physicians to Lesotho, transform two pilot district hospitals into vibrant, sustainable, well-utilized hospitals providing services of good quality in support of primary care, and lay the groundwork for transforming other district hospitals in Lesotho. LeBoHA's clinical activities involve: establishing a Family Medicine residency program, instituting site-based competency-focused training of nurses, developing continuing medical and nursing education programs, and integrating new, cost-effective technologies. LeBoHA's management activities involve: building leadership and management capacity, introducing a continuous process for monitoring and improving the quality of care, developing systems and capacity for financial management, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of data collection and use.
Interns provide essential support for the implementation, evaluation, and continued development of this program. We are currently seeking interns for the second half of 2009 (July 6, 2009 - December 12, 2009). Airfare and accommodations will be covered and a living stipend of $450 per month is included. Interested candidates should submit (1) your statement of interest, (2) your current CV, (3) a copy of your current transcript, and (4) three references to Lauren Babich at lbabich@bu.edu by March 15, 2009.
Other
If you are unable to travel yourself, but would like to support the experience of another volunteer or other programs that have grown from our grant-funded work, you may do so at www.globalprimarycare.org.
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Lesotho Family Medicine Specialty Training Program
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The Family Medicine Specialty Training Program began in January 2008. The four-year program will accept up to six registrars-in-training per calendar year. We are currently seeking candidates for the class entering January 2010. The Family Medicine Specialty Training Program was created to strengthen district level health services in Lesotho. Lesotho faces many health challenges, including the third highest HIV prevalence globally. Lesotho suffers from a shortage of physicians urgently needed to battle this health crisis, as there are only approximately 20 Basotho physicians practicing in Lesotho, with a large majority of these physicians of these located in Maseru.
The Family Medicine Specialty Training Program is designed to ensure that each registrar completing the training program has the skills, knowledge, and attitude necessary to be an effective district physician. Training will include preventative care, community care, and working as a team member or team leader with other health care professionals. The skills identified for a district physician to work effectively include:
- Maternity, Obstetrics, Gynecology - including management of labor, emergency and operative obstetrics, and limited operative gynecology.
- Pediatrics – including neonatal care, well child care, and the management of acutely ill or injured children, including limited surgery.
- Adult and geriatric medicine – the full range of ambulatory care and in-patient management of acute illnesses and chronic disease exacerbations which require in-patient care.
- HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis - ambulatory and in-patient management of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis serving all age groups.
- Surgery - definitive management of minor and moderately severe trauma, including burns, common orthopedic and general surgical procedures such as the management of compound fractures of the extremities, puncture wounds to the abdomen, certain bowel obstructions and appendectomies.
- Mental Health - integration of ambulatory management of mental illness into general primary care and management of acute conditions requiring hospitalization.
- Selected public health and management skills - including practical approaches to prevention, applied epidemiology, program evaluation and related statistical methods. Also included is applied finance and the basics of accounting, budgeting and budget management, as well as contract development, and management training.
This specialty training program is designed to increase the number of well-trained family medicine physicians in Lesotho who have the knowledge, skills, and commitment needed to meet the health care needs of the Basotho people. Training involves registrars working directly with practicing faculty on a daily basis and emphasizes the development of the full spectrum of clinical skills and knowledge to manage very ill in-patients of all ages. Furthermore, knowledge of public health essentials, such as applied epidemiology and biostatics, are taught so as to provide an integrated view of family medicine and community health. The combination of high quality clinical, management, and public health training will provide the necessary skills and knowledge needed for graduates of this program to serve as leaders in Lesotho’s district hospitals as well as to equip registrars to successfully manage community-oriented private practices.
The first two years of the program are focused most intensely on clinical training with the registrars working very closely with the faculty trainers, primarily at Motebang Hospital in the Leribe district and Maluti Adventist Hospital in the Berea district. The third year has a greater focus on community health with more rotations outside of the district hospitals. The fourth year is a leadership development year that is customized to the specific interests and strengths of each registrar.
As an on-going aspect of the training process to assure that physicians in training understand and are committed to community-based care, each registrar will be assigned a health center or clinic within the catchment area of the hospital during year one. Registrars will work as a vital team member at the community health sites to provide the best care possible to the population served by that facility. Registrars will also have the opportunity to work consistently on a public health research project of their own choosing.
Eligible candidates include:
- Any Lesotho national who has completed medical school and an internship in South Africa
- Any Lesotho national who has completed medical school and an internship at an internationally recognized medical school outside of South Africa
- Physicians who are not Lesotho citizens may apply; however, priority for acceptance is given to Lesotho nationals. Non-nationals should be able to demonstrate a long-term commitment to medical practice in Lesotho.
The program will be recognized by the Lesotho Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Council and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as a specialty training program and graduates will be qualified as specialists. Registrars will benefit from a multi-year contract with a 25% bonus upon completion of the program. Registrars will be offered Grade I employee status under contract of the Government of Lesotho. Housing or a housing allowance will be provided as well as several other benefits including membership in the Lesotho Medical Association, Internet access, online access to the Boston University library system, as well as monthly teleconferences with Boston-based family medicine faculty. For more information, visit the Lesotho Medical Association website at: http://www.lesothodoctors.com or contact the Family Medicine Specialty Training Director, Dr. Phil Elkin, at pelkin@bu.edu.
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International Faculty Development Programs in Boston
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Currently there are two International Faculty Development opportunities within the Department of Family Medicine at Boston University:
International Family Medicine Faculty Development Course
This is an 8 week course offering an academic experience with the purpose of preparing international physicians to become knowledgeable family medicine educators for their respective countries. The course is organized around six domains: The Principles and Practice of Family Medicine, Medical Education, Clinical Practice, Research, Communication, Leadership and Administration. The International Family Medicine Course in Faculty Development is open to any international physician who is interested in learning about the tools necessary for development and evolution of the specialty of Family Medicine.
International Family Medicine Academic Fellowship Program
This is a 2 year Master’s Degree granting program. It is hosted by the Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and the Boston University School of Public Health. This program prepare fellows for leadership roles in academic family medicine careers through developing research skills, acquiring teaching skills and learning leadership and management skills. This program is open to international physicians who are recommended by their home institutions and designated for leadership roles in Family Medicine education in their respective countries.
Please contact us if you are interested in these programs.
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