MASTER OF MEDICINE IN GENERAL SURGERY (MMed.Surg)

Our surgical training program provides a comprehensive education in basic science and practical clinical knowledge. It provides cognitive, technical, communication, research professionalism and leadership skills required to excel as a surgeon. All surgical residents receive extensive training in preoperative evaluation in the clinic and hospital settings, intraoperative technique, post-operative, critical care management, and follow-up care. Residents rotate through several units within Kenyatta National Hospital and other hospitals, allowing for diversity, breadth and depth of training. In these training settings, the surgical residents are taught, supervised and evaluated by surgical faculty. Operative and non-operative patient care training is provided with appropriate levels of supervision by faculty members to promote progressive autonomy of trainees that is consistent with University policy. Supervising faculty promote progressive autonomy of trainees that is consistent with University policy. Supervising faculty members assess the knowledge and skills of each resident and delegate to him or her appropriate level of patient care authority and responsibility. Assessment of residents in patient care is guided by competency required for general surgery

Philosophy

The philosophy of teaching will be based on adult learning principles with greater leaning on involvement of the residents, understanding their needs and meeting the needs in a learner-centred approach.

The goal is to produce an independent, high-quality surgeon who serves the community they stay in with passion and purpose.

Rationale of the programme

Recent researches on medical education has shown that great discrepancies in health that persist both within and between countries. This is added to the current challenges of new disease entities, demographic and epidemiological transitions. There is a feeling that medical education has not coped with the challenges, largely because of fragmented, outdated and static curricula that produce ill-equipped graduates. The problem is systemic mismatch of competencies to patient and population needs; poor teamwork, persistent gender stratification of professional status; narrow technical focus without broader contextual understanding; episodic encounters rather than continuous care; quantitative and qualitative imbalances in the professional labour market and weak leadership to improve health-system performance.

The goal of surgical training is to produce surgeons who are capable of practising independently, delivering safe and high-quality surgical care, and meeting the surgical needs of the community at large. This process involves building the anatomic and pathophysiologic fund of knowledge required to understand surgical disease, acquiring and refining the cognitive and technical skills required to correct it, and developing the clinical judgment and decision-making necessary to know when to exercise it. Integral to this process is the graduated independence or progressive autonomy afforded to trainees as they transition to the independent provision of safe, high-quality surgical care. Acquisition of clinical judgment requires and decision-making hours of deliberate practice in surgical training.

The MMed General Surgery Curriculum is based on these principles and will produce Surgeons with the necessary skills to cope with the global challenges of modern-day surgical practice. The program will therefore be highly marketable and able to compete with other International Programs. This curriculum will allow for intercalation for one year after completing the first three years in either Masters of Science for one year or Doctor of philosophy (PhD) for two years in any aspects of the subject already handled that include basic sciences and clinical areas.

This is recognition that while MMEd general surgery is a professional degree, the current world requires practitioners who create knowledge and who are a Dept in a variety of aspects that help improve the work of surgery.

Goal of the programme

The goal of this programme is to provide learners with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, develop confidence and skills in the application of principles of general surgery in the management of surgical patients.

This programme aims to encourage the acquisition of general surgery skills that would enable participants to apply the skills of critical analysis, interpretation and discussion of information and data relating to general surgery.

The objective of the program is to produce qualified surgeon with knowledge, skills and attitudes which will enable them to function effectively as general surgeons.

 Expected learning outcomes

By the end of this programme, the students should be able to

Comprehend the scientific basis of surgical diseases and their manifestation

Apply the scientific knowledge in the perioperative care of patient with alimentary tract, breast and endocrine surgery patient

Able to take responsibility for emergency surgical conditions and deal independently with life-threatening situations due to trauma and critical illness.

Knowledgeable, skilful, ethical and compassionate with a sound orientation towards the community and an interest in research.

Have essential capability in taking care of orthopaedic surgery, paediatric surgery, urologic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery and neurosurgery.