Loma Linda University Health is partnering with other Christian universities and hospitals in Africa and the United States to create a new program to support specialty training for physicians in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics in Africa.
During its second annual meeting earlier this month, 28 delegates from the Christian Academy of African Physicians (CAAP) gathered on the campus of Loma Linda University Health to further establish and develop medical and spiritual curricula and to continue partnerships that support the creation of new Christian primary care training programs for the continent of Africa.
The partnership is similar to the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), which supports five-year surgical residencies at nine Christian hospitals across Africa, including Malamulo Hospital in Malawi, a Loma Linda University Health Global Campus and Adventist Health International site. Loma Linda University has provided academic backing for PAACS — an interdenominational collaboration — for more than a dozen years.
The work of CAAP will include the following four major areas of focus:
- Curriculum Review – CAAP will serve as a development and clearinghouse service for medical and discipleship curricula.
- Community Medicine/Public Health Training – African primary care specialists are not simply needed as providers of high quality medicine, pediatric, essential surgery, operative obstetric, psychiatry and emergency and trauma medicine, but often function as hospital administrator and supervisor of the regional community health program. CAAP is grateful for the integral involvement of Loma Linda University which has graciously offered an affordable Masters in Public Health to residents enrolled in a CAAP residency program.
- Accreditation and Program Support – CAAP consultants from Africa and the US will assist with site visits to facilitate program accreditation. CAAP consultations will identify needs and assist in development of program goals to meet those needs including resident remediation, faculty development, and resource discovery.
- Networking and Faculty Recruitment – CAAP will work to connect US academic physicians with needs in African residency programs for education, patient care, and research, working to ensure adequate orientation and preparation of academic expat physicians.
Training programs will be offered at several well-established mission hospitals in Africa under the direction of experienced, board-certified missionary physicians. Preliminary sites include Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon, Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, Kabarak University Hospital in Kenya, and Malamulo Adventist Hospital in Malawi.