Dr. Gitau presented the data at the annual Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) conference during a visit to the U.S.
UNC Emergency Medicine is part of a multinational effort to test and implement the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Basic Emergency Care Course” for new medical graduates and early career physicians in Kenya.
The research findings showed the course improved the confidence and knowledge of early career physicians in tackling emergency conditions in their patients. Citation below:
- Nichole Michaeli, Giovanna De Luca, Mary Gitau, Justin Myers, Daniel Ojuka, Derick Ouma, Travis Weiland and Grace Wanjiku. Evaluation of the World Health Organization- International Committee of the Red Cross Basic Emergency Care Course for Senior Medical Students. International Journal of Emergency Medicine 2/12/23, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-023-00487-z
This project’s overarching aim is to make this training available for all final year medical students throughout Kenya, in-line with the Kenyan Ministry of Health’s Emergency Medical Care Strategy 2020-2025.
In 2019 Mary Gitau and Derick Ouma, senior medical students from Kenya, were selected from a competitive pool of applicants for UNC Site Partner Scholarship program for the summer of 2020 in Chapel Hill. However, due to Covid they were unable to travel to the US and instead enrolled in our online Foundations of Global Health Course, hosted by the Office of Global Health Education, summer 2020. Additionally, Mary and Derick joined the Department of Emergency Medicine, Global Health Division on a research project in Kenya.
This was the beginning of a multi-institutional, international collaborative project that sought to test and implement the World Health Organization’s Basic Emergency Care Course for new medical graduates and early career physicians in Kenya. Link to: Kenya Emergency Medical Strategy PDF.