Information For Volunteer Pathologists in Ghana
The normal rotation is 30 days beginning either at the beginning of each month or, if double-coverage is being provided, going mid-month to mid-month.
Volunteers pay their own expenses which at present is mainly the airfare to and from Ghana and the preparatory vaccines (yellow fever, hepatitis A & B, and typoid) the anti-malarial drugs and the passport and visa.
A travel insurance policy is a must.
The hospital generously provides a house, pickup and return to the airport in Accra, an overnight in Accra if needed, a driver to and from work, house cleaning, laundry, and will also provide food with options being to have a cook for the evening meal, food and supplies delivered from the hospital for all meals, or other options should that work out better for the volunteers. The house has AC and fans in the two bedrooms and the living/dining room. There is an automatic washer. The house is fully mosquito screened. It is within a walled compound of 3 houses and 3 cottages. A landscaping project is nearing completion with pavers for the drive and walkways and otherwise in grass. With so many things being provided by the hospital, expenses can be limited to the airfare and perhaps weekend excursions to see the sights in Ghana. The hospital is also making the offer to furnish a vehicle and driver for weekend trips with the volunteer paying the expenses of the driver and overnight accommodations and meals. This is a generous offer.
Volunteer duties include:
surgical pathology sign out
teaching residents over the microscope
teaching the residents competence in doing the gross
improving processes such as turn around time and improving the work flow
giving regular reports to the hospital medical director and CEO
sending updates to the project director in order to run a coordinated project
Volunteers shouldn't shy from making recommendations and seeing these carried out.
Work is M-F with weekends off.
The project is in its infancy. The residents need to learn how to gross in and how to properly describe and sample tissues. They are far behind in basic histology. Pathology is moving into a new anatomic pathology building. Strong leadership pushing for organization, acquisition of a dictation system, proper ventilation of the histology workroom, proper storage and retrieval, and holding the residents responsible to learn is needed. As this project progresses teaching from Robins, having conferences, and getting the teaching certified will be needed. With time frozen sections, cytopathology and perhaps IHC can be introduced.
Two residents are being trained in Norway and this project cooperates fully with the goals of that program and in January those residents and a professor visit with those residents doing autopsies. Norway provided the dual headed teaching microscopes. These residents are expected to return permanently in two more years. They will take over the department. Our project is to provide services and teach local residents over those two years and remain into the 3rd year to give guidance and assess competence. Our program volunteers do not do autopsies.
Volunteer pathologists should be certified pathologists. Senior level residents are welcome and encouraged but need to be there with a certified pathologist. For information contact Thomas D. Coppin, MD, project director by clicking here.