Canada Swahili Institute > Medical Electives In Africa

A medical electives and field experience course in Kenya, Africa for students and interns from developed countries

The Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi (Picture 1) its training centre (Picture 2) the site of the proposed medical electives course for students and interns from developed countries.

Canada Swahili Institute Inc (Swahili Canada) in collaboration with Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Eastern Africa International Field School (EAIFS) announces a new course for medical students and interns from developed countries to carry out their field experience on infectious diseases in hospitals and communities in Kenya.

The 8 week course to be based at KEMRI in Nairobi will involve rotations at the local teaching hospitals and community clinics under the mentorship of Infectious disease experts from KEMRI and University of Nairobi. It will also provide opportunities for developing long term networks with counterparts and clinics in Africa.

Application form

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 Download the application form

COMPONENTS OF THE COURSE

Swahili language course
Trainees will undergo a basic Swahili language course at the beginning of their session. This will involve very basic Swahili listening and talking skills for their communication and understanding of simple phrases during rotation and social interactions. The course will also incorporate aspects of Kenya’s culture and history.

Clinical rotations
The trainees will have opportunity to rotate in the clinical areas of two major hospitals in Nairobi and have a chance to clerk, examine and discuss patient management with the local health team. They will also be able to practically be involved in carrying out some simple non-invasive medical procedures as well as have time to observe the more invasive procedures. They will be encouraged to join all the ward rounds, teaching rounds, and admission rounds as well as attend in the out patient clinics in their area of rotation. They will be expected to read a round some cases and give presentations at the student’s seminars which will be conducted weekly.

Community activities
The trainees will have the opportunity to be involved in community medical outreach programs. Some communities already have organized health care activities which can be used as entry point for the team. Depending on the subject to be explored, and the characteristics of a community, various standard methods will be used for information gathering or implementation of interventions.

Partnership
The program has a key objective of partnering with local medical students and interns at similar level of training. It is hoped that the developed country trainees will form relationships with their local counterparts for future networking. Student partnership will be implemented in collaboration with the Association of Medical Students of the University of Nairobi (AMSUN).
Below is the complete overview of the program

THE CURRICULUM

The term duration will be 8 weeks. Each doctor or medical student will be required to achieve the following by the end of the rotation:

Clinical work: Clinical rotation in a hospital for at least 4 weeks. During this rotation, they will be involved in the day to day activities in the unit working under the supervision of the hospital staff.

Topical presentations: They will also be required to identify at least 3 tropical cases managed during their rotation which they will write a comprehensive report and give a presentation on. Optionally they could identify some special cases that need community tracking to explore community support and placement for patients with chronic conditions.

Procedures: Medical students will be required to learn some procedures during the rotation and fill a procedure book. These will be simple minimal risk procedures under the supervision of a senior hospital staff.

Community placement: The trainees could also opt to take up a community project which may involve community diagnosis, interventions, or monitoring and evaluation of existing programs. This will involve identifying the project, planning for the activity, developing the tools and execution of the project. This should last a minimum of 3 weeks.

Report writing: Each trainee will be required to prepare a report that will be presented in the forums deemed appropriate. These could be departmental meetings at the University of Nairobi’s Medical School or the various center meetings at KEMRI.
An assessment will be done based on the expected domains of activities as listed above and the students awarded marks accordingly. The trainees may present their marks to be credited to their courses at their home universities.

TRAINING DATES AND REGISTRATION DEADLINES

There shall be 6 training sessions in the 2010-2011 calendar year beginning July 5th 2010.

The dates are:

Session 1: 5th July – 27th August 2010
(Registration Deadline: 5th May 2010)

Session 2: 4th October- 26th November 2010
(Registration Deadline: 4th August 2010)

Session 3: 10th January - 4th March 2011
(Registration Deadline: 10th November 2010)

Session 4: 4th April-27th May 2011
(Registration Deadline: 4th February 2011)

Session 5: 4th July 26th August 2011
(Registration Deadline: 4th May 2011)

Session 6: 3rd October-25th November 2011
(Registration Deadline: 3rd August 2011)

NUMBER OF TRAINEES

Only six (6) trainees shall be accepted per training session.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND ELIGIBILITY

  • Medical students in their pre-clerkship or clerkship stage (or equivalent)
  • Interns or clinical fellows.
  • Proficiency in English or Kiswahili.
  • Interested applicants to apply using the enclosed application form with a non refundable application fee of $50.
  • Those accepted to provide letter of recommendation from their Dean of Faculties.

Download application form in Word format.

FEES

The full course training fees is US $8,250 each. The fees shall cater for the following:

  • Tuition
  • Training materials
  • Accommodation (single room)
  • Meals
  • Transfer fees from and to Jomo Kenyatta Airport
  • Daily transportation to and from study sites to residence

IMPORTANT LINKS

Kenya Medical Research Institute
University of Nairobi
Kenyatta National Hospital