Specialty Training Program
Dear Prospective Family Medicine Registrar,
On behalf of the Ministry of Health & Social
Welfare (MOHSW) we are very pleased to provide you with information
about the new, four-year Family Medicine Specialty Training
program the MOHSW has established with Boston University Medical
Center and the University of the Free State. The registrar
training program is currently accepting applications for its
first intake. Training will begin on January 14, 2008.
At the end of four years registrars will be
superb district physicians. They will have completed a world-class
training program that equips them to definitely manage most
medical and surgical conditions in all age groups that present
at health centers and district hospitals. In addition, registrars
will have acquired the public health and management skills
that will allow them to identify community needs as well as
plan and manage programs in clinical medicine and public health.
This program is intended to meet national needs and the needs
of physicians planning to practice in Lesotho.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW)
with the help of the Kellogg Foundation is working in partnership
with the Lesotho Boston Health Alliance (LeBoHA) to transform
district hospitals. LeBoHA is the operating arm of the Boston
University Medical Center in Lesotho. In addition to the family
medicine program, intensive efforts are being made to improve
management, employee satisfaction, and patient care within
district hospitals. As registrars are training, the professional
work environment will be improving. When registrars finish
training, they will find practice in Lesotho to be far more
appealing. As for QEII, ground breaking for the new national
referral hospital is scheduled for December 7, 2007. As one
of the Family Medicine registrars, you will be part of the
transformation process, and when you finish your training,
the districts and the new national hospital at Botshabelo
will be places where you will be proud and pleased to work.
In order to provide high quality training, full-time
clinical faculty from Boston University, frequently visiting
faculty from the University of the Free State (UOFS) and Boston
University, and selected clinicians currently practicing in
Lesotho will be the core of the training team. The Family
Medicine Program Director along with another full-time faculty
member from Boston University will be in residence in Lesotho
and will work closely with registrars. Clinical mentoring,
working side-by-side with faculty from Boston, Bloemfontein
and Lesotho, will be the hallmark of this program. Progressively
greater responsibility will be given to registrars as they
demonstrate the successful acquisition of needed skills, knowledge
and attitudes. We anticipate that many registrars will also
enroll in and complete the M. Med in Family Medicine degree
at the UFS, but there are also plans to develop Lesotho's
own M. Med in Family Medicine at the National University of
Lesotho.
The MOHSW has also sought and obtained commitment
of the Lesotho Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Councils as well
as the Lesotho Medical Association. We look forward to receiving
your application and will be pleased to address any concerns
and questions you may have. For further details or if you
have questions, please contact Dr. Brian Jack at brian.jack@bmc.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. M.M. Moteetee (B.Sc, MB.ChB, MPH)
Director General Health Services
Brian Jack, MD
Clinical Director of LeBoHA
Associate Professor and Vice Chair
Department of Family Medicine
Boston University Medical Center
Bill Bicknell, MD, MPH
Director, LeBoHA
Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health
Boston University Medical Center
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