ABSTRACT
Background: The Chief Medical Resident (CMR) role is a well established, one-year position that has existed in the United States (US) for many years. Through collaboration between Yale University Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program and the University of Rwanda/College of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Internal Medicine Residency Program in Rwanda began a collaborative training program for Rwandan medical chief residents two years ago. Aims:This paper describes the selection and collaborative training process of the new Rwandan CMRs in teaching hospitals in Rwanda. We also report on evaluation of the role, its impact, and evolving challenges from the perspectives of the current residents through a quantitative survey. Methodology: A survey was directed to residents of the Internal Medicine residency training program. The survey was conducted at the two tertiary teaching sites in Rwanda: Butare University Teaching Hospital (CHUB) and Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK) where chief residents are assigned. On a Likert scale, a group of continuing residents were asked to grade items assessing a change in several educational aspects. The second group of residents, which consisted of first-year residents, was mainly asked questions directed at describing their perception on the chief resident role. Results: In total, 38 residents out of the 40 at the two tertiary hospitals took the survey. Of the 38 residents who took the survey,74% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed on the statement about improvement in educational conferences. 69.6 % of residents noted an improvement in medical education due to having a chief resident in the program. An overall improvement of the residency training program was observed by 78.3% of our study participants. In general (73.7%), residents perceive chief residents as their role model, with first-year residents (100%) being the most enthusiastic about this statement. Conclusion: The chief resident role establishment has made a positive impact in medical education in Internal Medicine/ University of Rwanda. Chief residents play a big role in medical education and are regarded as role models by their fellow residents