25 Aug 2013

Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital in Maun has been chosen as one of the hospitals to host trainee doctors in collaboration with the University of Botswana School of Medicine (UBSoM).

Speaking recently, the head of the school, Professor Sandro Vento said they had undertaken a visit to Maun to highlight the achievements made by the school.

Prof Vento said the goal of the programme was to place doctors where they are most needed and to build local research infrastructure.

Furthermore, Prof Vento said the school trains its students in urban and rural training centres and community-based sites.

These include Princess Marina Hospital, Mahalapye District Hospital, Letsholathebe and S’brana Mental Hospital in Lobatse, while the community sites are in Gaborone, Molepolole and Serowe.

The school, he said, admitted the first 36 undergraduate students in August 2009 and the first post graduate students in January 2010 in spite of numerous challenges. “The school has grown and at present has 178 undergraduate students and 58 postgraduate students in six specialties.”

Prof Vento added that other 50 students will start their first year this month.

He said the Medical Education Partnership (MEPI) grant has helped the school considerably in the last three years to make progress in the areas of learning for undergraduate students and family medicine residents, faculty development, maternal and child mortality studies.

Prof Vento further noted that MEPI has also been instrumental in establishing a health service research unit and a molecular research laboratory.

Botswana Medical Education Partnership Initiative (BoMEPI) principal investigator, Dr Oathokwa Nkomazana disclosed that the initiative has been operating for the past three years and has made notable success in helping the school establish its programmes.

Dr Nkomazana said the government has trained most of its doctors outside the country, and that some do not come back to provide healthcare to Batswana and grow its health sector.

As a result, she said, Botswana is forced to depend heavily on expatriate doctors. ENDS