Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2022 Sep 5;14(1):e1-e4. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3612.
Family Medicine training in Africa is constrained by limited postgraduate educational resources and opportunities. Specialist training programmes in surgery, anaesthetics, internal medicine, paediatrics and others have developed a range of trainers and assessors through colleges across East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA). Each college has a single curriculum with standardised training and assessment in designated institutions, which run alongside and in collaboration with the Master's in Medicine programmes in universities. Partnerships between colleges in Britain, Ireland and Canada and national specialist associations have led to joint training-of-trainer courses, e-learning platforms, improved regional coordination, better educational networking and research opportunities through regional conferences and joint publications. We propose the establishment of a regional college for specialist training of family physicians, similar to other specialist colleges in ECSA. Partnerships with family medicine programmes in South Africa, Canada and Australia, with support from international institutions such as the Primary Care and Family Medicine Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (PRIMAFAMED) and the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA Africa), would be essential for its success. Improved health outcomes have been demonstrated with strong primary care systems and related to the number of family physicians in communities. A single regional college would make better use of resources available for training, assessment and accreditation and strengthen international and regional partnerships. Family medicine training in Africa could benefit from the experience of specialist colleges in the ECSA region to accelerate training of a critical mass of family physicians. This will raise the profile of family medicine in Africa and contribute to improved quality of primary care and clinical services in district hospitals.
在非洲，家庭医学培训受到研究生教育资源和机会有限的限制。东非、中非和南非（ECSA）的外科、麻醉、内科、儿科等专业培训项目通过各大学的学院培养了一大批培训师和评估师。每个学院都有一个单一的课程，在指定的机构进行标准化的培训和评估，这些机构与大学的医学硕士课程同时进行，并与之合作。英国、爱尔兰和加拿大的学院以及国家专业协会之间的合作关系，促成了联合培训师课程、电子学习平台、改善区域协调、更好的教育网络以及通过区域会议和联合出版物开展研究机会。我们建议成立一个专门培训家庭医生的区域学院，类似于 ECSA 中的其他专业学院。与南非、加拿大和澳大利亚的家庭医学项目建立伙伴关系，并得到初级保健和家庭医学网络撒哈拉以南非洲（PRIMAFAMED）和世界家庭医生组织（WONCA 非洲）等国际机构的支持，对于其成功至关重要。强有力的初级保健系统和社区中家庭医生的数量与改善的健康结果相关联。单一的区域学院将更好地利用培训、评估和认证的现有资源，并加强国际和区域伙伴关系。非洲的家庭医学培训可以借鉴 ECSA 地区专业学院的经验，加速培训一大批家庭医生。这将提高家庭医学在非洲的知名度，并有助于改善地区医院的初级保健和临床服务质量。
