To conclude the day, Minister @nsanzimanasabin and Minister of State @YvanButera interacted with students from the College of Medicine and Pharmacy @UCmhs at the @Uni_Rwanda , during a public lecture.
Training more Doctors, but can we retain them?
One of our staff members recently brought a medical certificate requesting medical leave. When i looked at it, i noticed that the registration number of the doctor who had attended to the staff member was above 5,370. This suggests that the Rwanda Medical and Dental Council has registered more than 5,300 doctors over time, including those who are practising, those in administration and others who may no longer be practising.
Rwanda’s life expectancy has increased to almost 70 years. This means that we need to invest seriously in family medicine. In countries such as Italy, where there is an older population, they have developed a strong system of family doctors. Rwanda already has a well-organised healthcare system, but we can strengthen it further.
According to recent official statistics, Rwanda has about 1,700 health posts, 500 health centres, 42 district hospitals and five national referral hospitals. We could have at least four nurses at every health post at the cell level. They could screen patients, attend to simple emergencies coming from households and refer complicated cases.
Why can’t we have at least one doctor at every health centre, supported by a well functioning laboratory? Health centres should be able to screen for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer, as well as infectious diseases.
Every district hospital could have at least 12 general doctors to cover day shifts, night shifts and weekends properly. These hospitals should also provide staff quarters. Some district hospitals do not have houses for doctors, yet we expect them to remain close to the hospital and respond to emergencies.
Referral and provincial hospitals need specialists and senior consultants. If we do not have enough consultants among those registered, we can recruit experienced experts from elsewhere in Africa while training our own.
One of our former classmates recently celebrated his 50th birthday. Five colleagues joined him, and all of them now work in Western countries and they are specialists . I asked one of them, “Man, why don’t you come back and serve Rwanda?” He replied, “Man, the maths was not adding up, and the working environment was costing me mentally.”
In 2017 , i attended one of the HIV conference in Pretoria, i visited rural South Africa almost 500km from Pretoria and met doctors from East Africa. I asked them why is it that back home you don’t want to be posted in rural areas ? They told me: “We have internet here, staff houses, transport, warm water, and our children can attend school.”That spoke volumes.
We may not lack medical professionals as much as we lack strong retention strategies. Through Human Resources for Health and now 4x4, we are training more doctors but without proper retention, we may be training them for countries that have mastered the mathematics of keeping them. Those who understand will understand. Enjoy your Sunday !!
Today marks the beginning of the Global Event for World Vasectomy Day, highlighting the critical importance of conscious reproductive choices.
Reason #1 to support WVD: "I support World Vasectomy Day for the future of the planet."
https://t.co/XfVCqpfad5
SCABIES: AN INTENSELY ITCHY SITUATION
Have you ever experienced intense itch especially at night? It might have been scabies.
Scabies mites burrow into your skin, where they feed, live and lay eggs.
How can it be identified and resolved?
Are you a medical student, doctor or someone interested in health issues.
Join us for the knowledge-packed 5th Annual WVD providers' Summit in a few hours.
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#AnActOfLove
This's why l always tell people to desist from alcohol. My neighbor got drunk yesterday and he was dancing to my generator sound. When I put off the Gen he walked up to me and asked who sang the song? I told him is Yamaha featuring petrol He said wow! Those two musician are good