RCPCH Global Links Course

Global Links Course

For all those of you considering working in a developing country but who aren’t sure how to approach getting involved or are not sure what to expect, be sure that the RCPCH global links team will answer your questions and if you do go on placement will provide with you support at every stage. 

This was epitomised by the 9 day course that was arranged for Global Links volunteers prior to going on placement.

The course comprised a day of introduction looking at issues volunteers may have as well as meeting volunteers and doctors from Africa who had come across to spend time in the UK.

Following this was a day looking at Audit and applying this in African countries. The course was well designed and allowed UK doctors to understand to what degree audit was undertaken in Uganda and also how to approach the topic when on placement.  The presence of doctors from Africa was hugely important in this, a theme which was present throughout the course.

On days 3-5 we undertook a ‘Child health in developing countries' course which looked at all aspects of healthcare and culture in developing areas.  The facilitators used various situations to help work through issues in low resource settings and with the help of the doctors from Africa we were able to gain an understanding of the services available and how to approach certain situations.

Days 7-9 concentrated on leadership, management, teaching and service provision.  These sessions looked at generic principles in each of these areas and concentrated on having different ways of teaching.  The service provision day looked at how we could make small changes in order to facilitate change.  Techniques learned from these sessions could be equally applicable in low or high resource settings.

Whilst on this course we also visited the Houses of Parliament to welcome the Minister for Health in Uganda to the UK as part of the Uganda-UK Health Alliance.

This 9 day course was in addition to a 3-day security course we had been sent on to ensure we were aware of our personal security and how to minimise risk to ourselves.

Following completing this we both felt so much more confident about travelling to Africa and also much more aware of potential pitfalls and problems. However, be aware that as much as you can try to prepare for a low-resource environment, each location offered by Global Links has individual challenges so be prepared to be flexible and spend time getting to know your placement hospital before trying to implement changes.

Colin and Jess