At the medical school level, Kenyan students receive instruction on the management of injured patients during their surgical clerkships. However, since Emergency Medicine is not a recognized specialty, students lack structured instruction and exposure to injured patients in the Emergency Department. Upon graduation, these students are expected to practice largely independently and manage acutely injured patients. Studies show that teaching short, focused trauma courses to medical students leads to significant increases in knowledge and skill in acute trauma management.
Inaugural course- March 2015
Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret Kenya
In March 2015, physicians from the Emergency Department at Brown University, in collaboration with faculty from the Surgery Department of Moi University School of Medicine (MUSM) developed trauma course adapted for graduating medical students at MUSM. 22 students who had just completed, or were currently in their surgical rotation were enrolled. The course incorporated didactics, simulations, teamwork exercises, skill stations and radiology stations. The didactics were adapted from the ATLS course. Simulation and teamwork training was heavily employed during the course. The students also received instruction of the use of point-of care ultrasound in the setting of trauma i.e the FAST exam.
Course participants underwent pre and post course written and simulated testing, and pre and post course confidence evaluation. Significant improvements were noted in knowledge, skills and confidence in the management of acutely injured patients. We plan to incorporate this course into the surgical curriculum as a capstone course for all graduating students at MUSM.
