Using PCs for Continuing Medical Education

The link between health and poverty is very strong. Health problems and their treatments continuously change. Health care workers are the most important asset of the health system and need to continuously up-date their knowledge and skills. This project promotes continuous medical education (CME) among rural health workers to help them provide better and more consistent care.

Current status

The computer labs are set up and functioning in three hospitals. Medical training sessions take place each month, one for doctors and one for hospital staff. Doctors and staff prepare presentations using information from their practice and from the medical content provided offline and through the Internet. This is stored and shared on the Synology disk station between the hospitals.

Doctors present sessions to their peers based on a rotating schedule. These presentations are the basis for lively discussion, that provide a basis for better treatment and follow up of patients, and more consistent care.

The project has not only helped health workers to directly implement in the hospitals what they have learned, but has also contributed to the development of their careers. The project has for example improved communication skills of the health workers involved, including giving presentations and the sessions they attended are added to their CV.

Health workers are trained to find relevant information, both on the web and using offline medical content. They learn to repackage it using multimedia for continuous medical education session held in the hospitals. These materials are shared between hospitals through a Synology Disc Station. Staff are also trained to use and maintain their systems for continuity.

Goals

• Promote use of ICT & multimedia for development of materials
• Improve the availability & quality of CME materials
• Promote use of ICT by the health staff
• Create ICT capacity of the health workers
• Share the materials produced with other hospitals

Change management workshops have taken place with hospital management. The hospitals are integrating the funds needed to sustain the ICT within their overal hospital budgets.