When HVO lists the many reasons why we do what we do, we often discuss the global health workforce crisis. Reports from the World Health Organization and the Global Health Workforce alliance quantify these challenges, highlighting countries that have fewer than 23 skilled health care workers for every 10,000 people (there are currently 83 countries that don’t meet this threshold – and 17 more that have fewer than 35 skilled health workers for every 10,000 people). We know there are not enough health workers.
But what does that mean for those 23 health workers in countries like Malawi? A volunteer to HVO’s anesthesia project in Malawi recently reported:
One day, I was talking with the students, and I inquired what their daily schedule was like. He told me he woke up around 4 a.m. He prepared for the day and began studying prior to the morning report at 7:30. After that was lecture, followed by patient care until 3:30 when the afternoon lecture occurred. After the lecture he ate dinner and around 7 p.m. he started seeing patients for the next day, sometimes until 9 p.m. It became very apparent at this point that they have quite a rigorous schedule. They work difficult hours and they only have 18 months to learn everything they need to provide anesthesia. I realized that it must be challenging for them and resolved to try my hardest to efficiently teach them what they need to know to the best of my ability.”
As this HVO volunteer observed, health workers – and students of health care – find themselves with rigorous schedules, working hard to gather the knowledge they need to best serve their patients. HVO and our volunteers will continue to work to provide these hard working health providers with the professional support they need to succeed as they take on the challenges of a resource-scarce health system.