Recognising an opportunity to supplement the training of General Practitioners (GPs) during their clinical placements at Mildmay, Chief Executive Geoff Coleman and Medical Director, Dr Simon Rackstraw FRCP, developed the concept for the Education Exchange Programme (EdEx) to facilitate short-term electives for trainee GPs at Kumi Hospital.
The United Kingdom takes pride in the high standards of its medical professionals. Still, we firmly believe that a crucial addition to their training is the experience of delivering healthcare first-hand in a developing world context, where the abundance of facilities, resources, networks and safety nets that our highly trained clinicians are accustomed to are not readily available.
Trainee GPs can greatly benefit from the opportunities provided by working in low and middle-income countries. A small number of doctors, understanding the benefits of doing so, already undertake these exchanges independently, and Mildmay intends to provide this opportunity to all our trainee GPs.
During their EdEx placement, our doctors learn about the challenges of delivering healthcare in a resource-limited setting, gaining direct experience in developing the skills and knowledge to enhance their GP practice. EdEx will also help them to develop a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities of delivering healthcare in low and middle-income countries.