A Solution to the Human Resource Crisis in Healthcare?

one solution: international university of health sciences (iuhs)

However, increasing access to effective health care, especially for the rural poor, depends on having the human resources to run health facilities, especially in rural areas. With the government’s initiative in setting up Universal Primary Education and the growth of secondary education through USE, there has been a huge increase in the number of young people available for further training. While the need for the provision of further training is not disputed, it is generally agreed that there is an urgent need to rethink and refresh the professional courses currently on offer, especially those in the health sector, so as to make them attractive to a younger generation living in a very dynamic and fast-changing world.

The provision of more of the same courses will not be sufficient to meet Uganda's health needs in the coming decades. Training in the health sector (in some of its specializations) has generally stood still for the past number of decades. In today's world, health education must keep up with the times and use the latest technology to ensure that well-trained health workers can adapt and cope with health realities on the ground – especially in rural areas. Thus, there is a genuine need to supplement and fill the gaps in medical and health care education in many and varied specializations. Adding value to already existing courses and specializations (both clinical and academic) is one of the aims of the proposed International University of Health Sciences (IUHS). Through consultation with the stakeholders in the field of health in the next 3-6 months, we will shape our curriculum according to the healthcare needs of the country.

The proposed university will hopefully open its doors to its first cohort of students in 2008, and will initially be housed on the third floor of International Hospital Kampala. This newly-constructed building is excellently suited to housing a first-class tertiary education facility: the site has sufficient space for the university's lecture rooms, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, a resource centre (library and computer facilities), staff and student common rooms, and staff offices. The facilities of the hospital will also be used for clinical courses (laboratories, theatres), ensuring that the expertise of IMG staff as well as that of visiting doctors/surgeons to its public wing, is used to enhance the standards of the educational provision.

mission
The proposed International University of Health Sciences aims to make a difference to health care in Uganda by bridging the gaps in health care education through providing quality health care courses of the highest professional, academic, and clinical standards in an atmosphere of sharing knowledge to promote health development.

goals, objectives, and beneficiaries
The proposed International University of Health Sciences is one response to the crisis in health care in Uganda today. Through training health workers for the country, IUHS could contribute meaningfully to - and be a part of - the efforts to ensure that health care is more accessible to the whole population of the country. The ultimate goal of setting up this university would be to ensure that all Ugandans have access to government health care facilities staffed by well-trained healthcare professionals. Guided by Government policies and objectives for the health sector, IUHS aspires to become a centre of excellence in training healthcare workers in various specializations. Thus, the MDGs, the HSSP II, and the UNMHCP would stand a better chance of being realized.

The major objective of setting up a new health sciences university is to train the necessary professional workforce to contribute meaningfully to the healthcare needs of Uganda's growing population. Through building up a cadre of well-trained health workforce, Ugandans could receive health care (both complex and every-day care) when needed. It is a fact that improving the health of the population means improving the training, skills, and knowledge of the health worker. Thus, unnecessary disease and death could be significantly reduced for the vulnerable sectors of the population. If the IUHS idea becomes a reality, we would expect to see our contribution to health care in Uganda within a period of five - eight years.
Overall the beneficiaries of this tertiary-level institution will include the following:

the local populations of the areas where trained health workers will be placed will benefit through closer access to well-trained health care professionals
the vulnerable, especially the poor who suffer illnesses and death will benefit if health care is delivered in a timely and appropriate fashion
the MDGs will stand a better chance of being realized
the skills of the students who undertake professional, clinical, or academic courses will be increased and they will be better able to support themselves and their families
the government of Uganda will benefit from an increased healthcare workforce
the hospital and its patients will benefit as International Hospital Kampala becomes a centre for medical research and training, attracting both talent and funding
the whole of Uganda will benefit as the number of qualified healthcare professionals entrusted with the future healthcare of the country increases to meet the need
better healthcare means a healthier population who can contribute meaningfully to the development of Uganda in the decades to come.

the proposed curriculum and faculties
The current School of Nursing and the Institute of Health Management already operational in IHK will together form the core pioneer faculties of the university; the university will grow to include a School of Health Policy and Planning, a School of Medicine, a School of Paramedical Studies, an Institute of Tropical Medicine, an Institute of Alternative Medicine, and eventually a School of Postgraduate Studies and Research.

In order to contribute meaningfully to staffing Uganda's health care facilities, the proposed IUHS will initially set up and run:

A. full-time certificate, diploma, and degree programmes for secondary-school leavers in the areas ascertained to be crucial for Uganda's health sector today (see proposed courses listed below for all these sectors)
B. diploma and degree programmes – offered on a sandwich/distance-learning basis - for health care professionals in the field who wish to upgrade their skills
C. short in-service training courses - relevant to local needs - for clinical and professional health care workers to improve performance
D. workshops and one-day training programmes for other health care practitioners, for example, Traditional Birth Attendants (who generally receive their wisdom from their predecessors), so that they can contribute to lowering maternal and infant mortality rates in rural areas
E. workshops and training programmes for non-health workers in the health sector, such as managers and receptionists
F. workshops and training programmes for public and private sector company employees.

The courses and training programmes listed below will be subject to the approval of the relevant professional body in Uganda and the Uganda National Council for Higher Education.

The overall target of the proposed IUHS is to set up and run optimally a health training institution of the highest academic, professional, and clinical standards. Improving the human resources in the health sector will lead to increased human resources at all levels in the health sector; the result will be better services for the people of Uganda.

In order to become a Centre of Excellence in health-related training, IUHS plans to change the way training in the health sector has traditionally been done. The Health Sector appears to hold fast to practices and pedagogys that are sometimes outdated and unable to prepare young people as healthcare workers in many areas of health care. The latest breakthroughs in diagnostic practices (CAT, MRI), the latest treatment techniques, and the use of ICTs in the health sector, means that students today need to be continually stimulated to keep up-to-date with the latest development in the health sector. IUHS aims to use Problem-Based Learning techniques, in addition to the latest pedagogical methods, to train both young people who aspire to a job in the health sector and those currently in pursuit of upgrading their professional skills. Providing critical and analytical skills to students is paramount in providing an effective workforce to meet Uganda's health needs in the coming decade. The main objective is to change the outlook of healthcare professionals so that optimal healthcare is provided to Uganda's increasing population.

A secondary, but nonetheless important target in providing/supplementing skilled, adequate, and appropriate healthcare so that both clinical and primary healthcare needs are adequately catered for, is that the workforce will be better able to contribute to the economic development of the country, and thus contribute also to the MDG of alleviating poverty and improving human well-being. The people who receive services will also see improved health and be better placed to meet their own and their community's economic targets – meaning an increased standard of living.

A further target is to empower people, through best practices, to demand adequate and appropriate healthcare services.

the future
The future is an exciting one for this proposed new university. International Medical Group is committed to making this undertaking a success and its willingness to take the step of starting a university is a matter that has received careful consideration. IMG believes that the proposed IUHS will be an institution that will make a difference to the way health education is provided in Uganda today. We appeal to all stakeholders in the medical/health field to assist us with advice and ideas so that IUHS can make a relevant contribution to providing health care professionals for Uganda's future generations.

making a difference to health care in Uganda