New Residency Program in Kenya

“The common goal of doing what’s best for the patients is something that transcends international borders,” said Dr. Aliza Monroe-Wise, from her post in Kenya.  

Dr. Monroe-Wise is an internal medicine global health chief resident (the first of its kind at the UW), and the inaugural holder of a one-year chief residency at the Naivasha District Hospital in Kenya. 

The program – Clinical Education Partnership Initiative (CEPI) – is funded by an NIH programmatic award under the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and by the Departments of Medicine and Global Health. The principal investigators are Dr. James Kiarie at the University of Nairobi and Dr. Carey Farquhar at the UW.    

Taking a page from the WWAMI model of medical education – to have students learn medicine where it is practiced (in the community, not just in academic hospital settings) – the University of Nairobi is expanding clinical training to rural areas outside of Nairobi and will recruit and train local physicians who can then mentor Kenyan interns, students and residents. 

The UW chief resident will supervise American and Kenyan residents rotating through the program and help in program development. Monroe-Wise has said the experience so far has reaffirmed “how simple and powerful primary care can be.” 

Developing the program has been in the works for a while. A group of 14 physicians and administrators from the University of Nairobi visited the University of Washington and toured some of the WWAMI sites in May of 2011 and Department Chair Dr. William Bremner visited Naivasha in May of 2012.

“The hospital in Naivasha will be a great site for our residents to learn and there is high enthusiasm for this program both at that hospital and within the University of Nairobi," said Bremner. "They plan to match one of their residents with one of ours each rotation, which I think is a great idea.” 

Fourteen UW residents from internal medicine, radiology, general surgery, OB/GYN, and family medicine are scheduled to spend at least four weeks in Kenya this academic year. Five residents from the UW have already completed rotations and according to Dr. Farquhar the feedback has been outstanding from both the UW and Kenyan staff.

One of Monroe-Wise’s main reasons for applying to the program is that she firmly believes in Dr. Farquhar’s vision that to have a long-lasting international partnership with another institution, there needs to be a constant presence there. She also felt it would provide her with a more well-rounded understanding of what “global health” really means.  

For prospective residents considering the program, she says:

“This is an excellent opportunity to have a structured, involved clinical experience in a resource poor and very foreign setting. Although you may have significant challenges and fears about participating in the program, those are the precise reasons why you should come to Kenya. Facing those challenges and overcoming those fears will broaden your understanding of your work, and may change your life.”