Author Archive

To all of you who support and follow the activities of our organization, we thank you and wish you a very happy new year.

Just a few weeks ago in Laos, our volunteers saw a 5 year-old malnourished boy struggling to breath after a 12 hour bus ride to the main hospital in Vientiane. They watched the Lao residents correctly diagnose him with pericarditis, and with the correct treatment he made a dramatic recovery in a week. Such a story has roots in twenty years of work by HF volunteers, helping what was at first only a handful of fully trained Lao specialists who were determined to launch in-country training programs in pediatrics and internal medicine.

Today, there are scores of Lao specialists transforming health care throughout the country, and taking increasing responsibility for the intensive three-year training programs.

In the fall of 2011, we bid farewell to Libby Clarke, internal medicine coordinator, and Margie Fulton, pediatric coordinator. We welcomed Emily Esmaili, a pediatrician who is now coordinating support for both training programs, a intentional effort toward gradually reducing expatriate teaching and administration as more and more graduates of the training programs are able to contribute. Leila Srour and Bryan Watt continue to volunteer with HF, now in their tenth year. WHO continues to support volunteer Manivone Thikeo in improving mental health training and services in Laos.

In Malawi, Laura Chambers-Kersh has completed an intense year in a desperately needy birthing hospital. In Haiti, we have turned the HF Volunteer House over the the Haitian Pediatric Society, capping the HF response that began after the earthquake. In Uganda, HF is channeling support to some of the neediest HIV-infected children. And HF is continuing to support interactive training programs on the special needs of children in humanitarian disasters.

We are currently recruiting for an OB-GYN physician to replace Dr. Chambers-Kersh in Malawi, and are always interested in volunteer teachers for the Laos project. Please see the Volunteer page for more details.

Wishing you all a very happy 2012.

Opportunity for OB-GYN Physician

Health Frontiers is currently recruiting for the position of OB-GYN Specialist and Field Representative in Lilongwe, Malawi. Eligible candidates must have completed all four years of an obstetrics-gynecology residency training in good standing and be board certified or board eligible by ACOG. This is a volunteer position consisting primarily of clinical service and teaching in a high volume, high acuity, low resource setting at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Health Frontiers OB-GYN specialist/field representative will be part of the KCH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reporting to both the US-based Health Frontiers Malawi Project Director and to the KCH OB-GYN Head of Department.

Responsibilities of the position include:

Clinical Care: Performing deliveries, including operative deliveries (vacuum); Performing surgeries, including cesarean section, hysterectomy (including postpartum), exploratory laparotomy, tubal ligation; Managing inpatients on antenatal, postnatal, labor and delivery, step-down unit and gynecology wards; LEEP and colposcopy; Supervisory night, weekend, and public holiday call (providing telephone consults and coming in only for emergency surgeries)

Teaching/Supervision: Daily supervision of medical interns, medical registrars (residents), clinical officer interns, and qualified clinical officers; Department teaching presentation once quarterly; Grand rounds, once yearly

Administration of the Health Frontiers project house/office in Lilongwe: Managing project house/office, car, and domestic support staff; Tracking receipts and providing quarterly expenditure reports

For this position, it is important to demonstrate leadership qualities, to be comfortable with and enthusiastic about clinical care, bedside and didactic teaching, and preferably to have some background or experience in international health. Cross cultural sensitivity, flexibility and strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential in this work. No foreign language ability is needed, but English language is mandatory.

This position is available as early as October 2011 with the start date being flexible. A minimum one-year commitment is preferred, however consideration can be made for applicants with existing commitments, such as fellowship, starting in 2012. Health Frontiers provides funding for travel expenses, health and evacuation insurance, housing, Chichewa language instruction, use of a vehicle and a modest living stipend.

Malawi is considered one of the world’s most densely populated and least developed countries. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an average GDP per capita of $884 in 2010. The maternal mortality rate varies widely by source, but has been estimated as high as 1140 per 100,000 (Lancet, May 2010). It has very few physicians (0.02 per 1,000 people on last estimate), and a chronic shortage of nurses and midwives. Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) is the referral tertiary care center for the central region, serving 5-6 million people, receiving transfers of the very sickest patients from the district hospitals and rural areas. Ruptured uterus, eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, end-stage cervical cancer, ectopic pregnancies, septic abortions, and severe pelvic peritonitis are routine parts of every week. As of August 2011, there were two fully-trained OB/GYN’s in the department to handle this caseload (just a month prior, in July 2011, there were none). The goal of the new head of department, Malawian Dr. Grace Chiudzu, is to create a department that is well-respected and gives quality care consistently, while working towards starting a registrar (resident) training program for the country.

This is an opportunity for truly rewarding work in a location where there is great need.

Please visit our website for more information about our organization: www.healthfrontiers.org

Interested persons may submit an inquiry and curriculum vitae by email to:

Kristine Torjesen, MD, MPH
Health Frontiers Malawi Project Director
ktorjesen@gmail.com

and

Laura Chambers-Kersh, MD
Health Frontiers Malawi Field Representative
shiprock.lck@gmail.com

We are currently updating our website and there will be more news posts up here soon!