By TesfaNews,
Eritrea has shown tremendous progress in producing a number of competent medical doctors and specialists from its two medical schools based on its own capacity.
The Orotta School of Medicine and Dentistry which was established inside the national referral hospital, Orotta, was first opened in 2004 with only 32 students by offering an eight-year course program in Medicine and a seven-year course program in Dentistry.
The Orotta national referral hospital is one giant hospital comprising of five big hospitals including a 200 bed surgical hospital, Berhan Ayni (optical hospital), Kidistti Mariam Psychiatric hospital, a 300 bed Pediatric hospital and Mekane Hiwot Maternity hospital.
After giving special emphasis to the task of providing higher specialization courses in various health fields beyond training medical doctors, later in 2008, the school opened its post-graduate medical program offering courses in areas of Pediatrics, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Preliminary preparations have also been made to begin postgraduate training programs in the fields of Internal Medicine, Anesthesia, Orthopedics, Neuropsychiatry, Pathology, Ophthalmology and Emergency Medicine among others with the ultimate goal of producing up to 15 surgeons every year.
Within this short period of time, the school has achieved to graduate a total of 65 newly trained medical doctors, 6 general Surgeons, 12 Pediatrician specialists and 5 Gynecology and Obstetrics specialists. Currently, the school enrolls more than 400 students.
The capabilities of the students who have been trained in different areas of medical education have been approved by experts from the United Kingdom, the United States, some from the Middle East and other countries in Africa.
Recently, Dr. Lisa Masterson, an American doctor and co-host of the popular TV series “The Doctors”, louds the growing number of newly trained health professionals, their competitiveness, and the leading role they are expected to play in reducing mother and child mortality rate in the country.
This impressive achievement is indeed a promise for more to come. With such achievements, the Eritrean society will therefore definitely get good health care services at ease for the number of health graduates would redouble in many folds in the near future.
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