Program: Health Personnel Development
Job Title: Health Personnel Trainer
Staging Dates: July 1-2, 2010 in Philadelphia
Pre-Service Training: July 4 - Sept. 2, 2010
Dates of Service: Sept. 3, 2010 - Sept. 2, 2012
Health Personnel Development volunteers serve as health trainers in one of the health training institutions. I will be assisting the health trainers in these institutions. These institutions train health personnel in various disciplines such as nursing and other allied health sciences, and offer in-service trainings to address specific subject and administrative needs, resource mobilization and the development of health personnel. PC presence in Malawi's health training institutions will help improve the standard of healthcare that is provided to community members.
Volunteers are placed throughout Malawi in small towns and villages. Volunteers live in simple housing, usually on health institution grounds. Most houses have no electricity or running water. Health institutions may lack teaching and learning materials, trainers may not have teacher certification and are usually few as compared to the number of students. Although this may sound discouraging, you have the opportunity to collaborate with qualified and experienced fellow trainers to develop teaching resources and help unqualified health trainers and students attain their health training goals.
HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM
The program provides the much-needed technical assistance in the country's development work. Malawi, once a British protectorate know as Nyasaland, is a small country in southeastern Africa. Known for its natural beauty and its warm, hard-working people, Malawi is peaceful and is also considered a success story in African political development. In 1994, after 30 years of one-party rule dating back to independence from Britain, Malawi quietly and peacefully elected a new government committed to multi-party democracy.
Malawi has one of the highest numbers of AIDS cases in the world; therefore, HIV/AIDS is one of the major components of the PC health sector. Malawi has made great strides in certain areas of health improvement and promotion since the mid '90s. However, the health sector is currently facing a crisis in the numbers of qualified health workers in the country. The issues needs to be addressed if the Ministry of Health (MOH) is to achieve the objectives it has set for itself in terms of improving quality and aces of healthcare for people with special attention given to vulnerable groups, poor women and children. The government of Malawi has requested that the PC bring in health worker trainers, in answer to the staff shortage that the MOH is facing presently.
Health trainers will serve as teachers and outreach workers by helping MOH to increase the numbers of trained health workers and improve upon the quality of health for all Malawians.
PRIMARY DUTIES
Health volunteers work with the Ministry of Health and Population (MOPH) and Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) in the following areas:
1. To improve upon the services offered by the MOH by building the professional capacity of health workers and improving upon existing essential health care.
2. To collaborate with educators, school and health officials in the integration of HIV/AIDS education and basic health practices in school curriculum and extracurricular student activities.
3. To increase numbers of Malawian health professionals qualified to provide quality primary healthcare services in rural areas.
4. To assist communities increase their awareness, knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes prevention of health problems, including HIV/AIDS/STIs prevention and care, and mobilize them to assess and prioritize their needs.
You will function as a member of a Malawian health training institution training team. You will be posted to a health facility with a training institution managed by the government or CHAM. Your local supervisor will be the officer in charge of the training institution who reports to the Medical Officer managing the health institution. You may also be posted to a CHAM institution with a training facility. Your job is structured. You will need creativity in developing and implementing sustainable training programs.
Your counterpart will probably be a health trainer and you will work primarily in the health training institution. Most job activities will be focused on training health professionals and offering in-service training to clinical staff. Job activities may also include assignments with other members of the health team and extension workers to alleviate other community health problems.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Location of Job
PC health personnel trainers will be placed at a health training institution in towns or villages in one of the districts of the 3 regions of Malawi. The training institution is located at a local health center or hospital situation in a local training center surrounded by villages and serves a population of over 10-50,000 people. A typical health institution has in and out patient departments, and under five and nutrition clinic, a maternity ward, a pharmacy and a public health department. You will work with health trainers. The public health department provides community outreach activities such as initiating or strengthening villages health committees.
Work Hours
You will work a full day based on the standards of your organization, a typical work day being usually from 730am to 5pm on weekdays.
Cultural Attitudes and Customs in the Workplace
In Malawi, respect tends to come with age and experience. This reflects a society that favors older employees; therefore, younger volunteers sometimes experience initial difficulties gaining respect from their supervisors, counterparts, and clients. Your professional appearance and work habits along with the deference you demonstrate for your Malawian counterparts will go a long way toward gaining respect in the workplace.
Dress Code
Malawian people dress professionally on the job. Conforming to local clothing norms during and after work will make you a much more effective development agent, and will ease your integration into your community. Professional dress usually implies trousers, shirts for men, and skirts with blouses or dresses that cover the knees for women. Slips are essential in this country. The dress in the capital and some of the district is more formal that what you find in the more rural, smaller towns, where traditional clothing is more common. It is advisable to bring both sport sandals and hiking footwear.
TRAINING FOR YOUR JOB
You will receive 9 weeks of intensive training prior to beginning your assignment. Pre-service training prepares you for your work assignment while you adjust to life in a new culture. In addition, you will also study the Malawian language and culture and learn about a variety of topics including community development. During training, you will also receive a bicycle and bicycle training.
Your technical training will consist of familiarization with policies, programs, and organizations working in the health sector in Malawi, and practical exercises working in the health field. During pre-service training, you will also study the principles of community development and you will be taught how to conduct a community needs assessment. Before you start teaching, you will do 4-6 weeks of orientation in the clinical area to familiarize yourself with the conditions and disease in your area.
LIVING CONDITIONS
Houses in rural areas can vary. Some houses are constructed of bricks, concrete floors and corrugated metal roofs. Others are made of dried mud and have thatched roofs. Your host agency is responsible for providing your housing. Most volunteer houses at health centers are constructed of bricks, concrete floors, and corrugated metal roofs. Electricity and running water varies from one place to the other. One rural area may have running water and/or electricity, while another might have none. In areas without running water, water sources are available from community taps or wells. In areas without electricity, cooking on a wood fire is widely used. Expect to use hurricane lamps and candles, paraffin (kerosene) and Dover (wood) stoves for cooking/heating. For drinking, PC will provide a water filter and other forms of water purification. All areas have at lease the basic necessities such as locally grown staples and household goods.
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