7th January 2022
Cambridge Crash Course in Overseas Medicine
Proposal
To provide a national pre-deployment course for junior doctors planning to work or volunteer in a low resource setting overseas.
The course will be run over three consecutive intensive days during the month of June and will be designed to replace local Deanery Global Health Study Days and the popular Cheltenham Crash Course in Overseas Medicine, which has now ceased.
The course will run annually in Cambridge. The expectation is for junior doctors to attend face to face, however an option to attend remotely will also be available. Attendance will be mandatory for Global Health Fellows and will be advertised nationally.
Background
Junior Doctors preparing to work or volunteer overseas whether as a HEE Global Health Fellow, working independently or for an international aid organisation or charity often require additional training in aspects of clinical healthcare in which they are unlikely to encounter during their NHS work.
Many study for the Dip in TM&H at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Glasgow or London, either at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine or at the MSF course.
From experience, courses such as ATLS, Neonatal Resuscitation, Helping Babies Breath, Infectious Diseases particularly Malaria, HIV and MDR TB are useful and popular.
The Cheltenham Course was however unique in providing hands on practical training in many different clinical situations immediately prior to deployment.
Course Summary
Day 1
Personal Preparation
Reading, Reference Books, IT resources, Apps
What to take with you
Indemnity/Health Insurance
Personal Safety
Local Traditional Culture
Language
Resilience
Personal Experiences
Obstetric Emergencies
Reproductive Health in Developing Countries
Sexual Violence
Helping Babies Breath
Neonatal Resuscitation
Acutely Sick Children
Malnutrition
Burns
(Ophthalmic Disease)
(Common Dermatology Problems)
Day 2
Surgical Skills Half Day (run twice on same day).
Private Study/QIPs/Group Work/Networking with colleagues- Half Day.
Day 3
Health Education/Disease Prevention
Dentistry
Basic Anaesthesia, Spinals and Sedation
Orthopaedics, fractures and dislocations
(Altitude Sickness)
Infections, Common Tropical Infections, Ebola, Malaria, HIV and MDR TB
Trauma Moulage
Gunshot and Knife Injuries Burns
(Mental Health)
Chronic Medical Illness in a low resource environment e.g. Diabetes, COPD, Coronary Health Disease, Hypertension
Cost
The Cheltenham Course was charged at £400 per participant in 2020 excluding a Course Dinner and accommodation. Junior Doctors in training were able to reclaim 50% of the course cost through their Deanery Study Leave budget.
A revised course fee of £500 seems reasonable although there may be an option to top slice Deanery Study Leave budgets?
HEE funding
To fund: hire of venue, speaker fees and expenses, coffee/food, IT, incidentals. £7000 based on £1000 per Deanery