Community-based education for registrars in family medicine at Walter Sisulu University

Abstract

At Walter Sisulu University (WSU), postgraduate registrar training in family medicine commenced in 2008 and is based at Mthatha General Hospital, the District Hospital for King Sabata Dalindyebo Health District. During the first three years of training, the registrars spend 18 months in a district hospital rotating through various units (medicine, surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics), supervised by family physicians. There is an elective period of six months in which they train at other specialist or service units (e.g. hospices) according to the individual’s needs. They spent a further 12 months full-time at one of the community health centres (CHC) accredited by the Health Professisons Council of South Africa for registrar training in family medicine, under the supervision of a family physician. In this open forum, we have provided the background to this CHC placement and its rationale. We believe that this model will serve the needs of the South African health system.