The Clinical Officer Surgical Training in Africa project (COST-Africa) held a data collection training workshop in Lusaka, Zambia at the Crossroads Lodge from 24th June until 2nd July 2013.
The workshop brought together medical licentiates from the 2009 medical licentiate cohort for training in the use of the COST-Africa data collection tools. The data collection tool, designed with input from surgical specialists at RCSI including Professor Sean Tierney and Professor Michael Earley, the Surgical Society of Zambia and the College of Medicine in Malawi, will collect data on surgical outputs and surgical outcomes that will help evaluate the COST-Africa surgical training programme.
The medical licentiates previously participated in the COST-Africa enhanced training in surgical skills, epidemiology professionalism and management in the summer of 2012. COST-Africa which is working closely with the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH) and Chainama College of Health Sciences, aims to demonstrate that lifesaving emergency and basic major surgery is a cost effective intervention that can be delivered by clinical officers. Clinical officers are non-physician clinicians with 3years basic science training who deliver most of the services in Africa that doctors would deliver if they were available at district hospital level thereby serving the essential needs of the rural poor. Medical licentiates in Zambia are clinical officers who have undergone additional training. This five year collaboration (2011-15) is funded under a European Union (EU) 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and demonstration under grant agreement [266417].
The project coordinator Professor Ruairí Brugha, Head of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine at RCSI, Dr Tracey McCauley from RCSI and Dr Leon Bijlmakers from the University of Nijmegen Netherlands (RUNMC) joined their Zambian partners in Lusaka, Dr John Kachimba and Mr Edward Chibwili (SSZ) in what resulted in an eventful workshop.
The Permanent Secretary, Professor Ellywn Chomba, from the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health officially launched the workshop and showed great support for and recognition of the COST-Africa project. The Permanent Sectary commented on the importance of the project in training these medical licentiates in enhanced surgical skills as this cadre are the backbone to health care in the rural areas of Zambia. Also present on this day were Dr Tambatamba (Deputy Director – Epidemiology and Disease Control) and Mrs Chisense (Chief Human Resources Management Officer) who both have been in close contact with the SSZ providing help to and support for COST-Africa in Zambia.
Photo 1 below shows the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health and colleagues, specialist surgeons from the Surgical Society of Zambia, the medical licentiates in training and the COST-Africa team. Photo 2 below shows two medical licentiates extracting data form theatre registers during a district hospital visit to pilot the COST-Africa data collection tools.
The medical licentiates previously participated in the COST-Africa enhanced training in surgical skills, epidemiology professionalism and management in the summer of 2012. COST-Africa which is working closely with the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH) and Chainama College of Health Sciences, aims to demonstrate that lifesaving emergency and basic major surgery is a cost effective intervention that can be delivered by clinical officers. Clinical officers are non-physician clinicians with 3years basic science training who deliver most of the services in Africa that doctors would deliver if they were available at district hospital level thereby serving the essential needs of the rural poor. Medical licentiates in Zambia are clinical officers who have undergone additional training. This five year collaboration (2011-15) is funded under a European Union (EU) 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and demonstration under grant agreement [266417].
The project coordinator Professor Ruairí Brugha, Head of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine at RCSI, Dr Tracey McCauley from RCSI and Dr Leon Bijlmakers from the University of Nijmegen Netherlands (RUNMC) joined their Zambian partners in Lusaka, Dr John Kachimba and Mr Edward Chibwili (SSZ) in what resulted in an eventful workshop.
The Permanent Secretary, Professor Ellywn Chomba, from the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health officially launched the workshop and showed great support for and recognition of the COST-Africa project. The Permanent Sectary commented on the importance of the project in training these medical licentiates in enhanced surgical skills as this cadre are the backbone to health care in the rural areas of Zambia. Also present on this day were Dr Tambatamba (Deputy Director – Epidemiology and Disease Control) and Mrs Chisense (Chief Human Resources Management Officer) who both have been in close contact with the SSZ providing help to and support for COST-Africa in Zambia.
Photo 1 below shows the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health and colleagues, specialist surgeons from the Surgical Society of Zambia, the medical licentiates in training and the COST-Africa team. Photo 2 below shows two medical licentiates extracting data form theatre registers during a district hospital visit to pilot the COST-Africa data collection tools.
Photo 1: COST-Africa data collection training workshop launch June 2013 in Zambia. Among the participants are: Front row (left to right): Mrs Chisense ((Chief Human Resources Management Officer, MCDMCH); Dr. Tambatamba (Deputy Director - Mother and Child health); Professsor Ellywn Chomba (PS, MCDMCH); Dr. Charles Michelo (Head of Department of Health, University of Zambia);Professor Ruairi Brugha (COST-Africa coordinator, RCSI); Dr. John Kachimba (Principal investigator, SSZ); Captain Patrick Mwape (Medical licentiate). Other participants include the supervising surgeons to the medical licentiates; the medical licentiates form the 2009 cohort; Mr. Edward Chibwili and Dr. Robert Zulu (COST-Africa, SSZ); Dr. Leon Bijlmakers (COST-Africa, RUNMC) and Dr. Tracey McCauley (COST-Africa, RCSI).
Photo 2: Medical licentiates from the 2009 Medical Licentiate cohort retrieving data form a theater register at Kafue District Hospital during piloting of the COST-Africa data collection tools.