One of the strongest impressions of medicine and healthcare at Kijabe is its educational focus. That focus and my interest makes you welcome at a number of levels. Most fun has been the interaction with the house officers and interns. It is January and the beginning of the academic year with both its anxieties and exhilaration.
What has been the biggest surprise are the residents who come from all parts of Africa. They are well trained and have a lot to contribute to the delivery of healthcare at this hospital. They will return to their respective countries to recreate the educational mission that they have been a part of here at Kijabe.
The question for me is how to best support this mission of medical education while here and after I return to the U.S.? Where and how could physicians, nurses, physical therapists partner with the teachers and learners here? At this time, I do not know the answers. This is certainly one of those questions that needs an answer.
I have looked at the institutional answers that have previously been proposed. From a U.S. perspective there are models like those at the University of Michigan with Ghana in obstetrics and gynecology. There are relationships between Indiana University and Moi University here in Kenya in pediatric care.
Are there answers that address specific physician learners and teachers on an individual basis? Could there be a social network that is developed with the specific task of providing an educational space for continued medical education? There is no question that access to communication tools has changed the educational landscape. Can a learning community be established with the PAACS’s residents and faculty by using tools like Skype and Facebook?
Stay tuned,
Marvin
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