Development of a Surgical Training Program in Rural Tanzania

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  • April 4, 2020
Creator
  • Ali, Yasmin
    • Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program
Abstract
  • Background: There is a critical shortage of surgical providers in Tanzania, especially in rural Tanzania. A partnership has been developed between the Department of General Surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston Salem, North Carolina and Shinyanga Regional Referral Hospital in Shinyanga, Tanzania with the goal of creating a surgical training program. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to 1) perform a literature review evaluating the effectiveness of long-term international partnerships between institutions in high-income countries and institutions in low- and middle-income countries, and 2) describe the partnership between the two institutions in the development of a surgical training program in Shinyanga, Tanzania.Methods: A literature review was performed by evaluating peer-reviewed articles, published in the last 10 years, on education in general surgery through partnerships between institutions in high-income countries and institutions in low- or middle-income countries. In the development of a training program in Shinyanga, Tanzania, there was a partnership created between the two institutions, creation of a curriculum, establishment of financial sources, and development of a scholarship to assist with future training. This training program has been created in an attempt to address the need for more providers capable of providing surgical services in rural Tanzania. This is a proposed plan for training in Shinyanga, Tanzania. Results: The literature review revealed improvements in surgical education when surgeons and medical institutions in high-income countries partnered with those in low- and middle-income countries. The partnership created in Shinyanga has resulted in and will continue to result in a more structured curriculum with both didactic and clinical components. The scholarship developed as a part of the program allowed for a participant to go on to additional training. Conclusion: This program is early in its development but has shown some improvements in the teaching and training paradigm at Shinyanga Regional Referral Hospital. Future steps include employing another surgeon to work and teach in Shinyanga, continue fund raising efforts to both help with the surgeon’s salary and scholarships for selected interns, and to develop a rotation for residents at Wake Forest who are interested in practicing surgery in low-resource settings.
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  • In Copyright
Note
  • Track: HC&P
  • Paper type: Program Plan/Evaluation
Advisor
  • Carter-Edwards, Lori
Reviewer
  • Charles, Anthony
Degree
  • Master of Public Health
Academic concentration
  • Public Health
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2018
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  • 16bc4580-11e3-481d-afb8-59f388f728a5

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