DEVELOPMENT OF POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION AT THE 37 MILITARY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Postgraduate medical education outside the traditional teaching hospital promotes decentralization of postgraduate training. The 37 Military Hospital established one of the earliest postgraduate medical education outside a teaching hospital in Ghana. Prior to this, the hospital faced a problem of external staff training, long training duration, and the inability to train large numbers of doctors at a given period. The article describes the evolution, impact and challenges of establishing postgraduate education at the 37Military hospital. The postgraduate medical education evolved out of the need to increase the specialist doctors output and retain doctors during training. It started in 2006 with four pioneer students and now has 173 students at various years of residency. The immediate clinical impact of the postgraduate medical education was the reduction in emergency mortality rate and an increase in emergency admissions in the first 2 years. Subsequently, an undergraduate training programme commenced with a current student turnover of 200 per annum. The foreign student pass rate in the national Medical and Dental Council examination for foreign trained graduates has consistently been well above the reported national pass rate per exam. The challenges encountered were myriad but with administrative support a postgraduate unit was established for the postgraduate medical education at 37 Military hospital. In conclusion, the development of postgraduate medical education is feasible outside tertiary teaching facilities with a dedicated and funded postgraduate unit/college.