T
Dr. John Parks, Head of Department
he Department of Family Medicine is housed within the School of Public Health & Family Medicine (SPHFM), which is one of three Faculties comprising the University of Malawi College of Medicine. Read more about the Department of Family Medicine
A Family Physician is a clinical leader and works as a consultant in the primary health care team to ensure primary, continuing, comprehensive, holistic and personalised care of high-quality to individuals, families, and communities. The mission of the Department of Family Medicine is to teach learners how to provide comprehensive person-centred care, with a family and community orientation, in which the family physician responds to undifferentiated illness, and acts as a consultant to the primary health care team. Read more about a Family Physician (external link)
The Head of Department, Dr. John Parks, invites you to have a look around our webpage and learn about our programs and our educational mission.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Dr. John Parks, Head of Department
or
Dr. Prosper Lutala, Deputy Head of Department.
To apply for the MMed (Family Medicine) program you must:
-
hold a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) or its equivalent from any recognized university
-
be registered with the Malawi Medical Council as a Medical Practitioner
-
have at least two years of work experience
Application Fee:
There is a non-refundable application fee of MK8000.00 for Malawians and $300.00 for non-Malawians.
Tution Fees:
The current tuition fees are available from the Registry; these vary according to whether the student is Malawian or not.
Scholarships:
From time to time the College receives funding to provide scholarships time for exceptional MMeD students, who, but for the scholarship, would be unable to take the course. The sponsor’s procedures and criteria are followed when such scholarships are awarded.
A
pplication forms are available from the College of Medicine registry office and can also be downloaded through the following link: Download the Post Graduate Application Form.
All applications for registration for the MMeD degree in Family Medicine should be completed on the required form and addressed to the College Registrar
The application form must be completed in full and signed by the applicant
The Registrar shall obtain references, academic transcripts (where possible) and copies of certificates.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate in advance how they intend to support themselves financially and how they intend to pay fees. Where an applicant has obtained sponsorship, a copy of the letter stating the sponsorship agreement must be submitted with the application.
Applicant must be able to demonstrate written proficiency in English where their first degree is in another language.
Applicants must include a letter of release for the course from their employer.
All application documents should be mailed to the following address:
The Registrar
College of Medicine
Private Bag 360
Blantyre 3
Malawi
The College receives applications all year round. However, the deadline for receiving applications is 30th October for the admissions scheduled for 1st March the next year.
The curriculum consists of 21 core modules organised into four main components as outlined below:
- Fundamentals of Family Medicine: CODE: FAM MED 601. This component has four modules:
- Principles of Family Medicine
- Evidence based Medicine
- Family Oriented Primary Care
- Community Oriented Primary Care
- Clinical Family Medicine: CODE: FAM MED 602. This consists of 14 modules:
- Child health
- General Adult Medicine
- Infectious diseases
- ENT, Ophthalmology and Dermatology
- Women’s Health
- Adolescent Medicine
- Geriatrics
- Palliative Care
- Surgery
- Orthopaedics
- Anaesthesiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Mental Health
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Research Dissertation: CODE: FAM MED 603.
- Health Systems Management and Electives: CODE: FAM MED 604.
- Health Systems Management in Malawi
- Elective Topics in Integrated Health System
Year one and Year two
In the first and second year of the M Med in Family Medicine programme the following module swill covered:
- Fundamentals of Family Medicine Modules
- Child Health
- General Adult Medicine
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Emergency
- Women’s Health
- Research Methodology
- Surgery
- Orthopaedics
- Palliative care
- Geriatrics
- Adolescent Health
- Anaesthesiology
- ENT, Ophthalmology and Dermatology
Year three
In third year, the programme the following four modules will be covered:
- Health Systems Management
- Mental Health
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Research
Year four
In the fourth year will cover the following modules as a continuation:
- Infectious Diseases
- Child Health
- General Adult Medicine
- Surgery
- Emergency
- ENT
- Women’s Health
- Ophthalmology
- Dermatology
Throughout the 4-year program, students will see patients during a series of clinical placements. Each clinical placement is preceded by a 1-week didactic contact session. Fundamentally, the contact sessions provide the student with what to focus on during their clinical placements.
District and CHAM Hospitals, Health Centres and Community Attachment
Over the 4 years, students will rotate through departments at the hospital, health centres and communities served by the district. Upon completion of each rotation, a one-week classroom-based contact session is held to prepare students for their next rotation.
The Clinical practice will be facilitated by specialists at the host hospital. The host hospital has a site team comprising of a specialist Family Physician (site supervisor) and three to five other specialists. This forms the core teaching team. The students will be in the site for at least 40 weeks in a year.
Central Hospital Attachment
Students will also rotate at a Central Hospital to gain specialized skills not currently available at District training sites (e.g. anaesthesia, orthopaedics Intensive Care Services etc.).
For the elective period in the third year, a process has been started to work with Witwatersrand University in South Africa, which has been a partner in the development of the Family Medicine program in Malawi since 2009.
| PRACTICAL AREAS | NUMBER OF WEEKS | |||
| Year-1 | Year-2 | Year-3 | Year-4 | |
| Child Health | 10 | 8 | ||
| General Adult Medicine | 10 | 8 | ||
| Emergency | 10 | 8 | ||
| Women’s Health | 10 | 10 | ||
| Research Methodology | 12 | |||
| Surgery | 12 | 9 | ||
| Orthopaedics | 4 | |||
| Palliative care | 8 | |||
| Anaesthesiology | 10 | |||
| Ear, Nose and Throat | 3 | |||
| Ophthalmology | 3 | |||
| Dermatology | 3 | |||
| Health Systems Management | 12 | |||
| Mental Health | 4 | |||
| Research | 12 | |||
| PRACTICAL AREAS | NUMBER OF WEEKS | |||
| Year-1 | Year-2 | Year-3 | Year-4 | |
| Child Health | 10 | 8 | ||
| General Adult Medicine | 10 | 8 | ||
| Emergency | 10 | 8 | ||
| Women’s Health | 10 | 10 | ||
| Research Methodology | 12 | |||
| Surgery | 12 | 9 | ||
| Orthopaedics | 4 | |||
| Palliative care | 8 | |||
| Anaesthesiology | 10 | |||
| Ear, Nose and Throat | 3 | |||
| Ophthalmology | 3 | |||
| Dermatology | 3 | |||
| Health Systems Management | 12 | |||
| Mental Health | 4 | |||
| Research | 12 | |||
4.5. WEIGHT OF THE COURSE
| CODE | MODULE NAME | THEORY HOURS | PRACTICAL HOURS | TOTAL HOURS | WEIGHT % |
| Fundamentals of Family Medicine | 60 | 60 | 1.1 | ||
| Child Health | 63 | 630 | 693 | 12.4 | |
| General Adult Medicine | 52 | 630 | 682 | 12.2 | |
| Infectious Diseases | 14 | 14 | 0.3 | ||
| Women’s Health | 52 | 700 | 752 | 13.5 | |
| Surgery | 35 | 700 | 735 | 13.2 | |
| Adolescent Medicine | 5 | 5 | 0.1 | ||
| Geriatric Care | 5 | 5 | 0.1 | ||
| Mental Health | 28 | 140 | 168 | 3 | |
| Orthopaedics | 28 | 140 | 168 | 3 | |
| Anaesthesiology | 28 | 322 | 350 | 6.3 | |
| ENT, Ophthalmology, Dermatology | 21 | 315 | 336 | 6 | |
| Emergency Medicine | 32 | 360 | 392 | 7 | |
| Palliative Care | 14 | 280 | 294 | 5.3 | |
| Clinical Pharmacology | 39 | 36 | 0.6 | ||
| Research | 28 | 420 | 448 | 8 | |
| Health System Management | 21 | 420 | 441 | 7.9 | |
| Independent study | 246 | 264 | |||
| TOTAL HOURS | 771 | 5057 | 5828 | 100% |
Master of Medicine in Family Medicine
M Med (Fam. Med)