We are very proud to have just launched our new Medical Database and invite all UK medical professionals and students to take a look. You can link to it from the main page of the website, find it in the secion ‘What we do’ or link straight to it here. The database was created to promote opportunities for UK surgeons, doctors and qualified healthcare professionals, together with elective students to visit African hospitals. You can search for hospitals and get in touch with them to arrange a visit, or if you are a qualified healthcare professional, you can register your details for display on the database and African hospitals will be able to search for the skills they need and contact you.
The database will benefit African communities, clinicians and students in the UK and medical professionals in Africa. We believe that what is really needed is support for the ever-depleting numbers of adequately trained clinicians in Africa. Time and time again AMECA is asked for assistance to encourage qualified surgeons from the UK to visit African hospitals and deliver a training package to African doctors, clinical officers and surgical trainees. African doctors sadly lack either the financial resources or the opportunity for specialist training and as a result, the statistics on the numbers of specialists available per head of population across all of sub-Saharan Africa are depressingly low. Moreover, the availability of any specialists whatsoever in rural health facilities, is almost non-existent.
We believe that by facilitating the potential synergy between the wish of many experienced UK surgeons to “give something back” and the paucity of specialist training in African countries, this database creates a unique opportunity to connect these two groups.
The database provides information to users at no cost and therefore will help students to be able to better afford electives in a third world country and to source hospitals who are willing to host UK students for their elective studies. It is the fundamental belief of AMECA that students undertaking such electives emerge as better humanitarians and better doctors with improved basic diagnostic skills. Furthermore, their experiences in Africa often result in a lifelong interest in supporting the delivery of medical care in African communities and they will often return to Africa as experienced doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, during their careers.
Please do send us your comments and feedback and if you have spent time in any of these hospitals, either as a student or as a qualified clinician, do leave a review of your time in the relevant section.
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