Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaborative Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Current emergency care in Ghana is sub-optimal with significant delays to definitive care and high morbidity and mortality. The Ghanaian government has recently invested in physical infrastructure for emergency care at major teaching hospitals, but the human resources to provide care are inadequate. To address this need, the Ghana EM Collaborative has proposed an innovative training program focused on medical students, nurses, and residents with the formation of a new faculty for sustainable training. This program will train EM personnel in injury and acute medical illness management, expose trainees to research methodology, administrative and leadership aspects of EM. This proposal is a consortium of 6 entities working collaboratively; KNUST, UG, UDS, Ghana MOH, GCPS and UM. The project which is an extension of a single site pilot currently underway and will serve as a model for capacity building of EM providers in low and middle income countries aims to: 1) Develop and disseminate an innovative EM curricula, and team training for medical students, nursing graduates and EM residents across three tertiary care centers across Ghana; 2) Provide research training and mentorship to post-graduate physicians; 3) Initiate a cross-disciplinary educational exchange program; 4) Enhance faculty career development and increase provider retention in county. Three key innovations will include; 1) A modular theme based EM curriculum for trainees utilizing enabling technologies such as e-learning, open educational resources and tele-conferencing, 2) Low tech clinical simulation training surrounding procedural and resuscitation methods and 3) Team training techniques to emphasize the collaborative nature of EM. The initial program will be transitioned to additional clinical and educational sites. The five year project will generate a cadre of well trained EM personnel, fluent in research methodology, EM operations, with the leadership skills to sustain training of EM providers in Ghana. It is anticipated that 100 nurses, 100 residents, 900 medical students and 40 EMS providers will undergo training over the 5 year period. Ultimately, the in-country program will improve retention of EM providers and decrease preventable acute injury and illness related deaths in Ghana. PUBLIC HEATLH RELEVANCE: The introduction of innovative educational methods augment the teaching of clinical emergency medicine, including enabling technologies, clinical simulation tools and team teaching to inform to our own practice and teaching of emergency medicine in the United States and will likely be able to serve as a model for the introduction of emergency medicine into other low-middle income countries in the future.