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2013 Five Year Plan

Training and Education

There are currently a limited number of well-trained surgeons at Kamuzu Central Hospital to provide training for surgery residents. With at least 3 new residents coming into the five-year program every year, the need for trainers is increasing. We have established and are expanding a program of visiting surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses and other professionals to stay at the MSI House in Lilongwe for 2 weeks to 1 year at a time. Visitors complement the training experience and provide much needed assistance to the busy local surgeons, giving lectures to support the established curriculum and providing hands on training in out-patient assessment, pre-operative planning, operative procedures, post-operative care including treatment of complications, surgical critical care, evaluation and treatment of surgical emergencies and anesthesia. Foundation funding is critical to this plan, as research grants will not support clinical training.

As Malawian surgery residents finish the program and become Consultant Surgeons, they will be mentors and teachers in the KCH General Surgery Program. Although visiting specialty surgeons will continue to provide lectures and some hands on teaching, the bulk of training will be done by Malawian Surgeons, thus establishing a self-sustaining program. Participating international surgeons will provide research collaborations and senior level career mentoring including advice on grant writing and career advancement. MSI will continue to support UNC, other US and international surgical residents to rotate at KCH to develop collaborative research careers.

Clinical Service

As KCH surgical trainees complete their residencies, the pool of Malawian general surgeons will greatly increase. We will seek to provide guidance and support for their future careers both in the public and private sector.

As we continue to develop the KCH Burn Center it will become a center of excellence for burn care in the Southeast African region. We will continue to provide high quality care and seek to improve outcomes through excellent initial resuscitation, burn wound management with state of the art equipment, a dedicated burns theatre within the unit, and excellent physiotherapy. We will begin offering ancillary services to burn victims and their caregivers including education and family planning. We will develop and implement aftercare programs to support the education and wellbeing of burn survivors.

Research

Several prospective randomized trials are underway, investigating clinically significant questions faced on a daily basis by providers and patients at KCH. Completion of these trials will inform surgeons and improve outcomes. As our efforts continue we will identify other areas in need of research and undertake additional studies.