Charlottesville, VA
University of Virginia
(Posted Feb 19, 2013) – I. Purpose of the Project
The Government of Rwanda aims to build a high quality and sustainable health system. Rwanda currently faces a severe lack of adequate number of physicians and other health care workers, and one key root cause of this shortage is lack of adequate number of faculty to train future physicians. There are very few trained subspecialists, and residency training programs in Rwanda, begun in 2005, are still developing.
The Ministry of Health in Rwanda developed the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Program to collaborate with US schools of medicine including: Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, University of Colorado, University of Maryland, University of Texas, University of Virginia and Yale. The primary goal is to support clinical faculty in Rwanda and strengthen targeted clinical residency programs, with an added impact on the quality of the clinical educations for interns and medical students. As part of this program, US schools will provide expatriate physician mentors in specialties and subspecialties in the following areas: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Surgery, Anesthesiology, Family and Community Medicine, Oncology, Radiology, Pathology and Emergency Medicine.
The US schools that will be hiring expatriate surgeons include: Dartmouth, Harvard and University of Virginia. Expatriate surgeons with expertise in the following areas will be recruited for the Rwanda HRH Program:
• General surgery (acute care/trauma)
• Orthopedics/spine
• Urology
• Neurosurgery
II. Objectives
The goals of the partnership between the Ministry of Health and the affiliated US schools in the Rwanda HRH consortium include the following:
1. Support the development of the clinical, teaching, and research skills of current and future faculty and specialist physicians
2. Support the creation of a strong cadre of specialists to meet patient care needs at district, provincial and referral hospitals
III. Roles and Responsibilities
Each member of the US faculty for the Rwanda HRH program will be an employee of the US school, i.e. their respective “home institution” and will report to: 1) an identified mentor or supervisor at the “home institution”; and 2) the Rwanda Head of Department, an employee of the Faculty of Medicine in Rwanda. US faculty will have an appointment at their respective “home institution” and an appointment within the Faculty of Medicine.
The position will pursue the following objectives:
1. To enhance the quality of education of Rwandan trainees rotating through clinical services in Surgery. The focus will be on postgraduate trainees, but will also include interns and medical students;
2. To improve quality of care of patients through role modeling, enhancement of training programs and development of evidence-based clinical care guidelines and a culture of continuous quality improvement;
3. To support those responsible for the delivery of care to patients in Surgery, for training purposes.
Breakdown of specific roles for US faculty:
Administrative responsibilities (20%):
1. Enhance the structure and design of clinical training, including advising on the development and implementation of administrative tools and structures required for residency operations and the creation of trainee, faculty, and program evaluations tools, including revision of curricula and modules.
Educational/clinical teaching responsibilities (70-80%):
1. Actively participate in bedside-teaching, as well as seminar-based teaching
2. In collaboration with Rwandan faculty:
- Participate in the development and delivery materials, programs and tools to enhance learning and teaching and provide continuing medical education
- Assist in development of curriculum and pedagogical enhancements for the specific subspecialties of Surgery
- Organize and conduct seminars in evidence-based medicine
3. Participate in the formal evaluation of trainees at different stages of clinical rotations to determine if they have met the requirements
4. Engage in co-mentorship with Rwanda faculty to develop clinical and teaching skills
5. Supervise postgraduate students in the delivery of care to patients for training purposes (both inpatients and outpatients)
6. In collaboration with Rwandan faculty, assist in development and/or enhancement of clinical guidelines, as well as innovative therapeutic and diagnostic approaches in Surgery
• Research (0-10%)
1. Work in partnership with Rwanda counterparts to identify and develop opportunities for collaborative research. In some cases, provide training and mentorship of Rwandan faculty in research methodology.
Research conducted must adhere to the ethical standards and local approval processes established by Rwandan Authorities. Research co-authored with Rwandan researchers will have shared responsibilities reflected in the authorship, and must also meet the ethical standards of the relevant US institution.
IV. Qualifications
• Overall Skills and Abilities: Successful candidates will have emotional intelligence and personal maturity, enthusiasm for working in a developing country, cultural flexibility and competence, and a passion for making a positive contribution to Rwanda’s healthcare delivery system. Defining characteristics are uncompromised integrity, strategic and innovative thinking skills, and the ability to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Candidates must be able to develop and apply quantitative measurement to promote effective decision-making and continuous organizational improvement. The ability to manage multiple reporting relationships will be critical to the faculty’s success.
• Communication and Reasoning Ability: Demonstrated ability to effectively and diplomatically communicate information and data in written and verbal form to top management, government officials, and hospital-based colleagues is required. The ability to interpret and apply instructions in diverse settings, and proven ability to support organizational change and develop the clinical and management capability of other health professionals is required. English proficiency required; French proficiency preferred.
• Education and Experience:
- Board certified or eligible in surgery
- Board certified, eligible or in final fellowship year for surgical subspecialists
- Professional experience in cross-cultural and low-income settings is strongly preferred
V. Compensation and Benefits
Salary and Benefits
Salary for US faculty will be provided by the respective “home institution” and will be commensurate with experience.
Medical licensure will be provided by the Ministry of Health.
Housing
US faculty will receive a monthly housing allowance from the Ministry of Health. In addition, they will receive an allowance to cover the first two weeks of orientation.
Travel
One round trip airfare ticket per US faculty and family member, as appropriate, will be provided.
Contract Period
US faculty will be contracted for a minimum period of 8 weeks from August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2014. One year commitments are preferred.
http://hrhconsortium.moh.gov.rw/
How to apply
Interested candidates should submit a CV and cover letter to: calland@virginia.edu
Cover letters should address the following:
1) Describe why the candidate is interested in global health;
2) Describe previous experiences in global health and in medical education;
3) Outline career goals/interests;
4) Explain why the candidate is interested in the Rwanda position;
5) Describe the personal qualities or experiences that make the candidate well-suited for the position.
http://hrhconsortium.moh.gov.rw/
Location
Lane Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
United States of America
![]()
