[Medical specialist training at the College of Medicine in Malawi; the value of the Dutch contribution].
Malawi, one of the world's poorest nations, has been until recently largely dependent on foreign doctors. In 1991 the College of Medicine was founded in Blantyre, Malawi, to train doctors locally, using a curriculum that meets international standards and is tailored to local needs. The Dutch government has supported this initiative financially and by providing medical specialists to help develop the curriculum, to teach and to assist in clinical and research tasks. The College has been remarkably successful. Most graduates remain to practice in Malawi and student numbers have increased from 30 to 65 per year. A training programme for medical specialists has been recently started that is aimed at providing university staff who can take over from the expatriates. It will still take several years before the College is able to train sufficient, qualified local teaching staff. Continued support from the Dutch government is essential as well as intensified cooperation with Dutch academic centres in medical education, specialist training and research.
Zijlstra
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University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Private Bag 360, Chichiri, Blantyre 3, Malawi. eezijlstra@malawi.net
D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009426:Netherlands; D012106:Research; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000592:standards*; D013038:Specialization