Attracting; Equipping and Retaining Young Medical Doctors in HIV Vaccine Science in South Africa

Background: HIV remains a significant health problem in South Africa (SA). The development of a preventive vaccine offers promise as a means of addressing the epidemic; yet development of the human resource capacity to facilitate such research in SA is not being sustained. The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) has responded by establishing South African/HVTN AIDS Early Stage Investigator Programme (SHAPe); a programme to identify; train and retain clinician scientists in HIV vaccine research in SA.Objectives: The present study sought to identify factors influencing the attraction and retention of South African medical doctors in HIV vaccine research; to understand the support needed to ensure their success; and to inform further development of clinician research programmes; including SHAPe.Methods: Individual interviews and focus groups were held and audio-recorded with 18 senior and junior research investigators; and medical doctors not involved in research. Recordings were transcribed; and data were coded and analysed.Results: Findings highlighted the need for: (1) medical training programmes to include a greater focus on fostering interest and developing research skills; (2) a more clearly defined career pathway for individuals interested in clinical research; (3) an increase in programmes that coordinate and fund research; training and mentorship opportunities and (4) access to academic resources such as courses and libraries. Unstable funding sources and inadequate local funding support were identified as barriers to promoting HIV research careers.Conclusion: Expanding programmes that provide young investigators with funded research opportunities; mentoring; targeted training and professional development may help to build and sustain SA's next generation of HIV vaccine and prevention scientists

Professional portfolio development

Continuous professional development is a concept which most professionals view as a daunting task. Creating a professional portfolio enables any professional to track professional development and to document the development and achievements regarding one's career. Literature on the subject of professional portfolios mostly refers to the teaching profession. However; the basic principles remain the same and this article attempts to set a guideline for occupational health and safety professionals to create professional portfolios

An Evaluation of a Refresher Training Intervention for HIV Lay Counsellors in Chongwe District; Zambia

To address a severe shortage of human resources for health; the Zambian Ministry of Health has begun to make use of lay counsellors for HIV counselling and testing. However; their skills and knowledge rarely have been reviewed or refreshed. We conducted a two-day refresher workshop for lay counsellors to review their performance and refresh their skills and knowledge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the refresher training intervention for HIV lay counsellors in the rural district of Chongwe in Zambia. The two-day refreshertraining workshop was held in November 2009. Twenty-five lay counsellors were selected by District Health Office and participated in the workshop. The workshop included: the opening; a pre-training exercise; lectures on quality assurance with regard to testing and safety precautions; lectures on counselling; filling the gap/QetA session; and a post-training exercise. In both the pre- and post-trainingexercise; participants answered 25 true/false questions and tested 10 blood panel samples to demonstrate their knowledge and skill on HIV counselling and testing. The average overall knowledge test score increased from 79 to 95 (p0.001). At the baseline; knowledge test scores in topic of standard precaution and post-exposure prophylaxis were relatively low (58) but rose to 95 after the training (p0.001). The per cent agreement of HIV testing by lay counsellors with reference laboratory was 99.2. Participants' knowledge was improved during the workshop and skill at HIV testing was found to remain at a high level of accuracy. Relatively weak knowledge of standard precautions and post-exposure prophylaxis suggests that lay counsellors are at risk of nosocomial infections; particularly in the absence of refresher training interventions. We conclude that the refresher training was effective for improving the knowledge and skills of lay counsellors and provided an opportunity to monitor their performance

Profile of registrars and reasons for specialisation

Introduction The shortage of general practitioners is a worldwide phenomenon and occurs in countries such as Canada; the United States of America and Saudi Arabia. Increasingly fewer students are interested in general practice as an occupation. Choosing a speciality is a complex process and is dependent on a wide range of intrinsic and extrinsic factors; including preference at the start of studies; experience during undergraduate training; and environmental factors such as cultural and socio-economic background. The aim of this study was to determine the profile of registrars at theFaculty of Health Sciences (University of the Free State); as well as their reasons for specialisation. Method All departments were contacted and the first author circulated questionnaires and informed consent forms during the academic afternoons. Questionnaires and informed consent forms were available in Afrikaans and eng. Results Of the 150 questionnaires handed out; 109 were used for analysis (122 were received; of which 13 were incomplete). Most of the respondents were Afrikaans speaking (81.7

Plano de desenvolvimento dos recursos humanos actualizado (PDRH+) 2001-2010

"Na fase de reabilitacao do sector de saude; concretizada na reabilitacao das infra-estruturas preexistentes a guerra e na construcao de novas USs; significou uma grande expansao dos servicos. Isto trouxe o aumento das necessidades financeiras; dos recursos humanos e materiais; e da complexidade da gestao e organizacao dos servicos. Na fase actual; parece estar mais indicado o reforco e a estabilizacao do Sistema Nacional e a melhoria qualitativa das actividades de saude; isto significa dispor de pessoal qualificado em todas as US da rede sanitaria rural; requalificar e consolidar os quadros existentes; sem expandir ilimitadamente os recursos humanos. O cenario futuro desejavel e; assim; de quadros mais motivados e competentes; trabalhando melhor integrados numa sociedade mais ciente dos seus direitos e mais envolvida na busca de solucoes para as sua necessidades. Em relacao as projeccoes das perdas do pessoal; do desenvolvimento da rede sanitaria; do output das instituicoes de formacao (IdF's); necessarias para o plano de formacao dos recursos humanos; foi considerado um cenario razoavelmente ""conservador""; que pareceu-nos mais apropriado a realidade actual e a capacidade de gestao do sistema."