Help train Salone's next generation of paediatricians

Voluntary Position Available – Consultant Paediatrician

Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Assignment Length: 3 months
Number of positions available: 4
Starting – to run consecutively between June 2012-Aug 2013.

Interested candidates should please send a CV and cover letter by 1st September 2011 to Dr Fred Martineau at: fred(at)welbodipartnership.org

As a Consultant Paediatrician with Welbodi Partnership, you would have a direct and significant impact on the quality of care provided to extremely disadvantaged children. You would play a crucial role in the development of Sierra Leone’s first ever postgraduate paediatric training programme, producing the country’s future leaders in child health.

Job Description

The consultant subspecialist paediatrician will champion the development of their subspecialty in Ola During Children’s Hospital (ODCH), Sierra Leone’s only specialist paediatric facility. They will take a leading role in the recently established postgraduate paediatric training programme, providing educational supervision and expert clinical teaching on their special interest to paediatric residents.

In addition to these two principle roles, the consultant will be expected to take on further responsibilities aimed at improving the quality of paediatric health care in Sierra Leone. This will include general paediatric clinical commitments, teaching all cadres of health professionals and students and the development of clinical services as detailed below.

The assignment will require 3 months of clinical work in Sierra Leone. The successful applicant will be encouraged to contribute to the clinical and educational activities of the hospital before and after this period through the use of e-learning and telemedicine packages.

Responsibilities

The Consultant will be required to fulfil the role of subspecialist as stipulated by the West African College of Physicians (WACP) for the training of paediatric residents to take their WACP Membership exams, namely:

1. Develop and run subspecialist paediatric services. This will include the running of specialty clinics, advising on the appropriate equipping of hospital facilities and improving clinical care pathways relevant to their subspecialty.

2. Take a leading role in the postgraduate academic programme, including the educational supervision of registrars and active participation in the postgraduate academic teaching programme.

Individual workplans will be determined on appointment, in discussion with Welbodi Partnership and the hospital management team, to include some or all of the following:

3. Provide general inpatient and outpatient paediatric care. Engage in direct clinical work at a consultant level, running ward rounds and outpatient clinics. Out-of-hours commitments will be limited to telephone advice.

4. Additional academic activities: Delivering teaching to doctors, nurses and students at the hospital and involvement with relevant national academic programmes at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS). Conduct and supervise research and audit as appropriate.

5. Clinical service development. Take joint responsibility with ODCH management and staff for implementing medical project work to improve patient care.

6. E-learning and telemedicine. Welbodi are collaborating with medicineafrica.com to provide distance-based clinical and educational supervision. These will allow successful applicants to extend their contribution to paediatrics in Sierra Leone beyond their time on the ground and enhance the sustainability of any changes introduced.

7. Other projects targeting child mortality and morbidity in Sierra Leone that are in keeping with the principles of Welbodi Partnership.

Qualifications

Essential:
1. Medical degree from a WHO-recognised medical school.

2. Consultant-level or equivalent qualification in Paediatrics – e.g. Certificate of Completion of (Specialist) Training (UK), Fellow of the West African College of Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics board certification. We will gladly consider other suitable qualifications that are equivalent to FWACP.

3. Demonstrable subspecialisation or special interest within paediatrics in one of: cardiology, respiratory, haematology/oncology, endocrine, renal, metabolic or infectious diseases.

Desirable:
4. Professional experience of healthcare in Africa or other low-resource setting.

5. Experience of teaching at postgraduate and undergraduate levels.

6. In-depth, substantive knowledge of healthcare policy in developing countries.

7. Excellent people skills and a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds in a dynamic and constantly-shifting environment.

8. Excellent written and oral English communication skills.

9. Flexibility, focus, and the presence of mind to work in sometimes difficult and chaotic circumstances.

10. Commitment to the goals and principles of the Welbodi Partnership.

Remuneration

The Welbodi Partnership is a small organisation with limited financial resources.

The positions are on a voluntary basis with no salary or personal allowance. Welbodi are willing to cover the cost of a return flight to Sierra Leone, medical registration and visa application fee, and will provide accommodation and daily transport to and from the hospital. You will need to cover the cost of all other expenses.

Applications

The Welbodi Partnership is a UK-registered charity established to support the provision of paediatric health care in Sierra Leone and in particular the Sierra Leone Institute of Child Health (SLICH). SLICH is a joint project between the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, ODCH, and the Welbodi Partnership to create a centre of excellence in paediatric care. It forms part of the Government of Sierra Leone’s Strategic Plan for Reproductive and Child Health.

The 150-bedded hospital is located in the poor and densely-populated eastern part of Freetown, where 96% of families living in slum conditions. It treats more than 40,000 patients each year, spread across two inpatient wards, an outpatient department, emergency room, ICU, SCBU and a therapeutic feeding centre. The hospital is extremely under-resourced, however, and providing adequate care is still a challenge.

To learn more about us, please visit our website at www.welbodipartnership.org or for more specific queries please contact Fred at the email address below.

Interested candidates should please send a CV and cover letter by 1st September 2011 to Dr Fred Martineau at: fred(at)welbodipartnership.org