HANDBOOK FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS INTERNS LAUNCHED
ACHEST in partnership with the Health Professionals Education Initiative(HEPI) at Makerere University College of Health Sciences and the Ministry of Health has launched a Handbook for Health Professions Interns in Uganda.
ACHEST, Ministry of Health and Director Mulago hospital during the launch of the Intern Hand Book
The Handbook will be a guide to newly qualified professionals as they take the one-year mandatory internship at different hospitals and health facilities n Uganda. It addresses the key issues that graduates face as they transition from being students to fully-fledged professionals, from the expectations of internship, to career growth and professional development, the role of professional associations, stress management, and global health perspectives. Other topics covered are: Joining the Public Service in Uganda, The Health System in Uganda, Quality Assurance in the Health Care, Practical experiences and life during the internship, and Nursing Competencies.
This Handbook was officially launched on April 29, 2022, by the Director-General Health ServicesMinistry of Health. Dr. Henry Mwebesa, during the Induction Course for this year’s cohort of interns.
The event held at Mulago Women’s Specialized Hospital was also streamed online to enable all the interns listen in from their different training sites across the country. This year, there is a total of 1,795 interns currently under training 1,795 (doctors 900, dentists 31, pharmacists 253, nurses 466 and Midwives 145).
Dr. Mwebesa stated: “The handbook addresses issues facing graduate professionals during internship. It’s a good resource book for induction of our interns prior to internship training, and a good reference material for them during internship.”
He commended ACHEST and HEPI for working very closely with the Ministry of Health develop the handbook.
Special appreciation was also conveyed to HEPI for funding the development process of the Handbook and the induction courses that have been held for the last 3 years.
These Courses were selected for global recognition in the Health workforce Resilience Awards hosted in 2020 by the Human Resources for Health 2030 Program.
Other speakers at this year’s Induction Course included ACHEST Executive Director Prof. Francis Omaswa, ACHEST Director Health Workforce Prof Elsie Kiguli-Malwadde, HEPI Principal Investigator Prof Sarah Kiguli, Commissioner Nursing Sr Beatrice Amuge, Commissioner Clinical Services Dr. Jackson Amone, Mulago Hospital Executive Director Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, Psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Odokonyero and a representative from the Uganda Medical Association Musa Lumumba.
The Outgoing President of the Federation of Medical Interns in Uganda Dr. Lillian Mary Nabwire also participated by describing her real-life experience of internship at Masaka Hospital, as well as different perspectives from her classmates at their internship placements.
It was an interactive session with interns freely talking about the challenges they were facing including issues on welfare and supervision; the experts provided responses to queries raised.
A HANDBOOK FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS INTERNS IN UGANDA
Compiled by Carol Natukunda, ACHEST Communications Specialist