PRODUCED QUARTERLY BY THE MESAU CONSORTIUM; A MEPI INITIATIVE Vol. 3 No.1 December 2013 MESAU Newsletter MESAUNewsletter Mesau Director’s Message Dear Reader, wish you, your Busitema University Faculty of Health families and friends the very best in 2014. As sciences rolls out competence-based Iwe make resolutions for the New Year we need to reflect on medical training where we are and where we are going but most importantly how to sustain Professor Paul Waako and Dr. MESAU efforts and achievements and also strengthen our resolve to build Peter Olupot-Olupot a firm foundation for transformative education in Uganda. In this issue of Founder Dean and Associate Dean MSAU News there are examples of what difference MEPI investments are making Busitema University, Faculty of The curriculum is being implemented in our institutions. It is, however, not Health Sciences through a highly coordinated and easy to sustain interest and momentum organized sandwich of lectures, but so far so good. We should always he Faculty of Health Sciences at reflect on what difference our efforts patient-centred problem based are making at three levels: the Busitema University has rolled learning (pc-PBL), practicals, clinical individual, the institution and the wider out competence-based medical exposure, meet the client sessions, environment (the local community, the training. The Faculty that was country, the region and beyond). grand rounds, research and accreditedT by the National Council Various contributors to MESAU News community based training. have provided testimonies of the of Higher Education to offer health positive impact that MEPI funding professional training in September and support has on the institutional infrastructure, faculty development, 2013 admitted the first batch of to pg 2 strengthening research administration Medical students last September. The and management, and transforming and strengthening educational programs training curriculum that had been with the overall aim of improving submitted for accreditation in 2007 health service delivery for AIDS and was revised in 2012 with the input Contents related infectious diseases, and non- communicable diseases (NCDs). The from the MESAU-MEPI consortium MEPI-CVD linked award: educational achievements range from and upgraded to competence-based strengthening e-learning, students’ curriculum. The journey continues community based education and research and ensuring that libraries and information sciences play their rightful Following the accreditation of the A Year of Faculty role in health professional education. school the University admitted 53 Development at Mbarara There are excellent examples of research capacity building efforts to students of which one third are females University: Progress and address the rapidly growing burden as required by the University policy; Challenges of NCDs. Researchers do not function alone but need the support and one third of all students’ admissions guidance of research administrators should be females. The Late call for My Community- Based and managers (RAM). MESAU has admissions to the medical school placed great emphasis on uplifting the Educations Experience: capacity of RAM as described in this attracted 1,300 qualified applicants issue. of which 53 were selected on merit. We need to define appropriate metrics The University recruited 10 full-time MESAU Strengthens of success. What does success eLearning Capacity look like? Adequate systematic staff to join the Mbale Hospital-based documentation of MESAU processes, Faculty to implement the curriculum. activities and outcomes supports An extra 12 academic staff will be Cardiovascular Disease and promotes learning that is rooted in home grown educational, social recruited in February 2014 as the Awareness Campaign in and other innovations arising from Uganda government has approved Mbarara our institutions. The MESAU portal and MESAU News are contributing a supplementary funding for the enormously to sharing of ideas and medical school to ensure smooth The World Bank awards knowledge. implementation of the curriculum. 952 scholarships to pg 2 MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 1 MESAU Newsletter Busitema University Faculty of MEPI-CVD linked Health sciences Cont’d award: The journey continues By Dr. Isaac Ssinabulya and Dr. Yvonne Nabunnya The year 2013 has been of great achievements as we build capacity in cardiovascular disease (CVD) training and research. After a successful integration of the CVD module into the COBERS curricula at Makerere and Mbarara Universities, there is growing interest among medical students in carrying out CVD awareness activities at the respective health facilities as well as communities around them. Increasingly we have had several student groups organize outreach and CVD campaigns. This is a great The Busitema University top management poses for a photo with the founder staff of Busitema Uni- opportunity for students to preach versity Faculty of Health Sciences at the official admission ceremony of the 53 medical students. CVD prevention and early linkage to Front row from left to right: Professor Paul Waako (Dean), Professor Mary Okwakol (Vice-chan- care as well as identifying areas for cellor) Dr. Samuel Baker (First Deputy VC), Mr. Elisha Obella (AR) and Dr. Peter Olupot-Olupot quality improvement and research. (Associate Dean). Standing are Founder staff of the medical school The students are subsequently taking the lead in these activities and we are certain many of them will consider a lifelong career in University of Science and Technology. result of this collaboration. This is cardiovascular management and This serves a big number of patients aimed at building local capacity to prevention. from western Uganda cutting down optimally utilize the established In our fourth year of implementation, long distances previously travelled catheterization laboratory at UHI. we have had a total of 25 trainees to access such services. Yale is also providing training to one supported for their residency Case Western Reserve University faculty in pulmonary hypertension, program and 3 for PhD. We have (CWRU) staff have providedan area of increasing concern in noted an upward trend in the mentorship to trainees, expertise on Uganda as a result of pollution, number of researches done at various projects as well as transfer infectious processes and lifestyle. postgraduate level with a CVD of advanced cardiac intervention focus, from about one study per In conclusion the MEPI-CVD program skills to Ugandan cardiologists has generated interest and baseline year to more than six studies. Eleven and trainees. Patients have been trainees have completed and 4 of CVD data, a basis upon which to build able to save lots of money while lifelong careers. A lot still remains to them have had manuscripts from receiving quality care using the their research work submitted to be done and the stage has been set recently acquired facility at the UHI. to expand these achievements to peer review journals for publication Currently a faculty from Makerere is while the rest complete their final tackle the increasing CVD burden in undergoing training in interventional Uganda today. drafts. We have had 4 publications cardiology at CWRU - Ohio as a from our three PhD students and several manuscripts submitted. Two presentations have been made so far at international conferences by trainees as they share their research findings with the rest of the world [Accra – Ghana and Senegal]. Special thanks to our collaborating partners; the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) has provided a platform for cardiology training to staff/trainees from Makerere and Mbarara Universities and as a result a functional cardiology service Some of the trainees who have benefited from the program has been established at Mbarara 2 MESAU Newsletter A Year of Faculty Development at Mbarara MEPI-NEUROLOGY University: Progress and Challenges LINKED PROGRAM Samuel Maling, Wilfred Arubaku and Mark Kaddu Mukasa, Samantha Mary At the beginning of 2013, a training Makerere University College of Health plan was developed covering the Sciences The Strategic Plan of Faculty of following areas: Pedagogy: Clinical Medicine has faculty development teaching, Small group facilitation, MEPI Neurology Linked Program is as a priority. Most faculty recruited Large group teaching, Feedback integrated within the existing frame work have no formal training in health & evaluation, Use of technology in of training at two major Medical schools professions education. To qualify as teaching & learning, Leadership & in Uganda, namely Makerere University a faculty member all you need is an management skills, Academic skills & College of Health Sciences and Uganda academic qualification. The practice career management, Organizational Martyrs University Nsambya and also on the ground then is people teach & curricular development, we partner with Case Western Reserve according to the way they were Educational scholarship and University, USA. taught in medical school. Moreover, Assessment. The other areas were: The main objective of this program Aim two of the MESAU consortium 2) Grant writing, submission and is to enhance the quality and ensure proposes to facilitate faculty management 3) Responsible sustainability of the program and development programmes for all conduct of research 4) Manuscript development of strong Medical training teaching staff across all disciplines. writing 5) Strategic plan and policy for residents in neurology. The program At Mbarara University