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Liberia
Yale School of Medicine (Yale)
PI: Onyema Ogbuagu
Other team members: Lydia Aoun-Barakat, Laura Crawford, Sheela Shenoi
Project Duration: July 15, 2018 - August 31, 2021
Focus Areas: Clinical Research Training, Infectious Diseases
Final Summary of Project Activities
The original goal of the PEER award to Yale was to establish an infectious disease (ID) fellowship program at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center. This was then modified to coordinate West African College of Physicians (WACP)-recognized ID fellowship training at an institution in West Africa for two eligible Liberian physicians. Only one eligible candidate was identified, and at the time of the final report in November 2021, Joyce Bartekwa was completing the training she began in 2019 at Jos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria and was board eligible (scheduled to sit for her fellowship exam in April 2022). The Yale team offered mentoring and one-on-one ID support Residents and junior faculty to nurture interest in ID-related research issues. This has included preceptorships in inpatient and outpatient settings (the infectious diseases and HIV clinics) as well as creation of a repository of ID lectures and other resources for the entire Medicine department.
Numerous challenges were encountered in the course of implementation of this project. Dr. Ogbuago reports that he and his colleagues pulled back for a wider view of the medical education pipeline, and these modified expectations revealed the ill-prepared status of the Residents in JFK's Department of Medicine Residency Program with regard to passing the WACP Membership exams at the end of residency, which would then allow further regionally recognized specialty training. Support was provided to Residents for the virtual (and mandatory) workshops prior to the twice-a-year WACP membership examinations. The most impact was from the hiring of four senior faculty MD specialists (in Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Pathology, and Nephrology) to each spend 12 weeks at JFKMC providing didactic and hands-on training, as well as specialized attention to the skills and responses sought by WACP examiners. This positioned a class of six residents to be eligible for and hopefully perform well in the forthcoming WACP membership exams in April 2022.
Part of the difficulties encountered on the project may have been due to the high standard set by the Yale team for the residency program and the physicians it produces. WACP is the recognized bar that has been set for JFKMC's Department of Medicine residents. The Department's training program has been accredited by WACP to provide post-graduate training, and most of the physicians recruited from the sub-region to teach are WACP Fellows. Despite the challenges, of the 22 trainees with the Yale team worked, 20 had passed their WACP primary exam by the end of the project, five had obtained WACP membership, which signals the completion of residency, and two have further achieved WACP Fellowship status in General Internal Medicine. The local Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) offers a less rigorous examination that does not carry much weight outside of Liberia; all 22 have their LCPS primary certification, and 19 have their LCPS membership certification.
Yale joins several other PEER/Liberia partners in collaborating on the USAID program Bringing Research to Impact for Development, Global Engagement, and Utilization (BRIDGE-U): Liberia, which runs from 2021 through 2026.
Back to PEER Liberia Grant Recipients
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