title: Development and implementation of an emergency medicine graduate training program at Addis Ababa University School of Medicine: challenges and successes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ethiopians experience high rates of acute illness and injury that have been sub-optimally addressed by the existing health care system. High rates of patient morbidity and mortality prompted the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and the Addis Ababa University School of Medicine (AAU-SM) to prioritize the establishment of emergency medicine (EM) as a medical specialty in Ethiopia to meet this acute health system need.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To review the EM residency training program developed and implemented at AAU-SM in partnership with the University of Wisconsin (UW), the University of Toronto (UT) and University of Cape Town (UCT) and to evaluate the progress and challenges to date.
  
  
  METHODS
  An EM Task Force (EMTF) at AAU-SM developed a context-specific three-year graduate EM curriculum with UW input. This curriculum has been co-implemented by faculty teachers from AAU-SM, UT and UW. The curriculum together with all documents (written, audio, video) are reviewed and used as a resource for this article.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen residents are currently in full-time training. Five residents research projects are finalized and 100% of residents passed their year-end exams.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A novel graduate EM training program has been successfully developed and implemented at AAU-SM. Interim results suggest that this curriculum and tri-institutional collaboration has been successful in addressing the emergency health needs of Ethiopians and bolstering the expertise of Ethiopian physicians. This program, at the forefront of EM education in Africa, may serve as an effective model for future EM training development throughout Africa.
authors.forename: Sisay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teklu
authors.forename: Aklilu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azazh
authors.forename: Nebyou
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seyoum
authors.forename: Assefu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woldetsadik
authors.forename: Janis P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Tupesis
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wubben
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hunchak
authors.forename: Nazanin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meshkat
authors.forename: Girma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tefera
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maskalyk
mesh_terms: D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D005002:Ethiopia; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D016730:Program Development