Sustainable Development Goals
The Project
The Diocese of Chipata [Health Coordinator] has requested a Medical Doctor to build capacity of local clinical staff [2 medical practitioners and 3 clinical officers] through coaching and mentoring, whilst also attending to patients at Minga Mission Hospital. You will be performing duties as a way of practically sharing knowledge and skill development. Minga Mission Hospital provides outpatient services, 112 in-patient beds, maternity including post and ante-natal clinics, surgery, palliative care, voluntary counselling and testing, anti-retroviral therapy, dentistry, prevention of mother to child transmission, Eye Clinic, Cancer Screening and physiotherapy.
Minga Mission Hospital has recently been assigned as a Phase 1 COVID-19 Vaccination site.
This placement is in a relatively remote area.
The Location
Minga Mission Hospital is a Catholic Mission hospital located in Petauke District, Eastern Province, Zambia. The hospital serves a population of 144,000 people with health services both in the hospital and in the communities.
Petauke is approximately 404km from Lusaka [capital of Zambia], 179.7km from Chipata [capital of Eastern District], and 477km from Lilongwe [Malawi].
The Challenge
- Approximately 61% of Zambia’s population live in rural areas, ensuring access to services in rural areas is central to achieving national health goals.
- In spite of great progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is still a leading cause of death in Zambia.
- Other major health issues include: malaria, neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, ischemic heart disease and stroke.
- While the majority of Zambia’s population live in rural areas, the total number of doctors, nurses, and midwives in rural areas stands at 7677compared to 9285 in urban area
About You
Medical Doctor:
- A Medical Degree [MBBS or equivalent] and
- A minimum of 3 years specialist training
- Experience as a Hospital-based Doctor [desirable]
- Experience in clinical teaching and mentoring [desirable]
- Experience in surgery and obstetrics is required
- Skills and knowledge in the following areas would be an advantage: anaesthesia, knowledge of HIV/Aids, anti-retroviral therapy and opportunistic infections, paediatrics and knowledge of tropical diseases and conditions.
How You Will Help
First you must be willing to learn from the local community.
Over the first six months you are asked not to change anything or suggest a change to operations. During that six months you will take the time to learn language and cultural mores from a local counterpart willing to mentor you. You will also start a register of the strengths of the current personnel and the assets in the community/country that might be used to achieve the goals of the assignment.
You need to commit to clarifying why things are done the way they are rather than presuming from your own cultural lens to outline what is missing. So, you need to ask questions to enable you to learn from your hosts, rather than in ignorance make suggestions about how things can improve. Palms training will prepare you for this approach.
In the second six months you will be ready and better know which of your skills and what of your knowledge applies to:
- providing primary health care by conducting ward rounds, attending to patients at the out-patient department and conducting general elective surgeries
- develop the skills of current medical staff at Minga Mission Hospital.
Note: The monthly living allowance enables you to live a modest local lifestyle. Based on the cost of living in a particular country, it covers food, your daily commute, communication and other local costs. It is not set to enable you to meet financial commitments at home, such as a mortgage or a personal loan. It will not cover the costs of eating out and other entertainment. Read more about what is covered in our FAQ.