Internal medicine specialist, based in Tanzania

Volunteer plaement for an Internal medicine specialist, based in Tanzania, to try a new way of volunteering: 2 weeks, every 2-3 months for up to 3 years

Background

The St. Francis Referral Hospital (SFRH) is located in Ifakara, Southern Tanzania and has a capacity of 400 beds and attracts approximately 700,000 referral patients per year from Kilombero and other neighbouring districts. The hospital is connected historically and operationally to a number of other health institutions. All the local partner institutions depend on each other in order to be able to act as a platform for health care, training and research. Through the support of volunteers there is real potential to strengthen Ifakara as a centre of excellence in healthcare, training and research.

In order to allow the hospital to fulfill its role as a regional referral and teaching hospital, quality of services need to be improved through better infrastructure, strengthening of the financial and human resource management and by ensuring availability of qualified staff, equipment and drugs. Swiss Development Cooperation and VSO are supporting the SFRH to improve its quality of healthcare services in a sustainable way by offering accessible and affordable quality services to the population and providing excellent training and research opportunities to the local partner institutions. Based in St. Francis Referral Hospital as the Internal Medicine Specialist you will work closely with the Medical Director, Technical Adviser (TA) Quality of Care and Head of Internal Medicine Department supporting the department in improving quality of services, delivering training and improving systems and procedures.

What does the role involve?

The specialist will work closely with the medical director, technical adviser (TA) quality of care and head of internal medicine department. The specialist will be accountable to the TA quality of care and the medical director.

• Support the internal medicine department to improve quality of services – develop standard treatment guidelines.

• Facilitate support supervision and on job training of interns, other junior doctors and students in the department.

• Provide consultant services for medical cases that need specialist care.

• Support the department to improve data collection system.

• Support the running of departmental meetings regularly for all staff to discuss matters concerning improving quality of services and management.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You must be a qualified medical doctor specialising in internal medicine, with a minimum 5 years of medical experience and working as a specialist for not less than 2 years. You should have experience in teaching, training and mentoring staff and the ability to aid in developing specific goals and plans for the trainees. You must be a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way. You should have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics. Knowledge of the challenges of working in Africa would be advantageous.

And the rest.... Ifakara in the south of Tanzania is an authentic savannah grassland area that is green during the rainy season and brown in the dry season. Daytime temperatures vary between 32-39 degrees Celsius throughout the year. Southern Tanzania is home to some of Africa's best national parks and game reserves. There is some good hiking around Mbeya, the largest town in the southwest, but it's the country's two largest parks, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve that provide the most awe-inspiring encounters with lions, elephants and wildebeests. Mikumi is a smaller national park, but its proximity to Dar es Salaam makes it handy for those without the time for the full safari but who still want to see some wildlife. While on placement, we’ll ask you to commit to 12 weeks per year for up to 3 years to make a sustainable contribution. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training including language classes before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll support you to resettle.

How to apply:

To find out more about volunteering with VSO or to apply go to http://www.vsointernational.org/volunteer/and quote T0785/0012/0001 on your application. On average it takes a minimum of 4 months to go through the application process so apply now.