Professional and cultural exchange as part of a practical placement at Black Lions Hospital, Addis Abeba

Project outline
To enable selected students of the Feusi School of Physiotherapy, in the context of a 3-month special elective, to work in the Department of Physiotherapy of Black Lions Hospital, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
The training of physiotherapists at the Feusi School is regulated by the Swiss Red Cross and is a four-year, full-time course.


Aims
The aims for students in this elective-placement may be outlined in relation to several perspectives.
1. The confrontation and work with people from other cultural backgrounds, using the simplest therapeutic methods, at a different level of health-care provision under circumstances made more challenging by virtue of communication difficulties or climatic factors for example, is clearly an exciting prospect.
2. Supervision and instruction would be undertaken by therapists employed at the above-named clinic. Communication should be in English.

According to Sister Senayt Gizaw (senior therapist in the Department of Physiotherapy) the scope of treatment areas would include in particular surgery, orthopaedics and to some degree rheumatology. Sister Gizaw is a graduate of the only physiotherapy training course in Ethiopia. Her unit is accredited for the purposes of professional training.

3. As gains for the Black Lions Hospital is the opportunity for developing working-links with our institution, for exchange of ideas with our students – relating to current changes and new developments in Physiotherapy. It is our intention to prepare our students specifically for the medical conditions which are most frequently treated at the Black Lions Hospital.

The recognition of the Physiotherapy Unit within the hospitals setting is empowered by improving the awareness through reguliar contact and visits by our school represantant.

The Department profites for the futur purpose to train local Ethiopian physiotherapy students.

And, last but not least a greater awareness for the potential contribution of Physiotherapy to the basic- and community based health care results.


Possible elective periods
There are two three-month periods which come into consideration:

August-October. This involves students in their 5th clinical placement (part of the final year). At this point in their training they have completed 2 years of practical and theoretical training and have worked with patients (under supervision) for 1 year in various clinical settings.

February-April. This involves students in their 4th clinical placement who have completed 1 _ years of practical/ theoretical training and spent 9 months with patients.


Selection
Interested students will be carefully vetted. In addition to achievement of above-average performance in their training, personal fortitude and psychological stability will be considered as important prerequisites. Taking supervision possibilities into account there would be some advantage, assuming sufficient numbers of interested persons, for two students to work at Black Lions Hospital at any one time.


Finance and Accommodation
Students cannot expect a definitive subsidy. We are delighted for accomodation in one of the dormitories by Black Lions Hospital.


For futher Information please visit: http://www.fisiobern.ch/gv2003/gv-projekte.htm