Jimma University has the philosophy that education and knowledge should be used to serve and improve the greater community. This philosophy manifests itself within the curriculum as the Team Training Program (TTP). As part of their classwork, undergraduate students are required to intern at local health clinics in Jimma and the nearby towns for two months.
- “Jimma Health Clinic”
The students work together in multidisciplinary teams to support and improve the healthcare of the clinics and towns. Teams consist of medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, dental students, environmental students (think OSHA not tree-hugging), and of course the biomedical engineering students. The biomedical engineers take TTP in their third year, while the rest of the students take it during their fifth year (Jimma Univeristy has 5 year programs). Students live and work at the clinic sites, immersing themselves in the lives at the clinics. The experience exposes the students to the work they will be doing after graduation and provides much needed practical experience. All the biomedical engineering students I have spoken to at Jimma say that TTP was the best part of their education.
- “TTP Students”
Matt and I arrived in Jimma at the very end of the TTP program. We were able to attend their final report presentation. The students reported on their activities over the two months. The also presented a case file, where they discussed how students of each discipline helped in treating a young patient.
- “Final Presentation Assembly”
The students worked together to run the clinic. They also did community visits to help teach and improve the health and safety of the local businesses and homes. For example, the environmental students conducted health and safety checks on local restaurants and hotels to ensure that the they are handling and preparing food safely. Pharmacy students visited local pharmacies to ensure that they properly secure dangerous medicine and dispose of expired medicine properly. Medial and nursing students provided family planning services and made house calls to check up on recent clinic patients. The biomedical engineers helped repair and maintain medical equipment (at the health centers and pharmacies). They also taught people how to properly use their equipment (such as showing them how to balance a centrifuge).
At the clinic, the biomedical engineers preformed preventative maintenance on the equipment. At least once a week, they did “medical device” rounds where they assessed, calibrated, cleaned, or repaired the medical devices, as needed. Using the limited tools in their workshop, they were able to fix six broken medical equipment: 1 autoclave, 2 blood pressure monitors, 1 water distiller, 1 infant incubator, and 1 cell culture incubator. They were unable to fix 1 autoclave and 1 centrifuge because they lacked the spare parts and the needed service manual.
- “Biomedical Engineering TTP students at their workshop in Jimma Health Clinic”
Overall their work at Jimma Health Clinic was really impressive! But to improve the program, they need more tools and mentors. Abreham, the head (and only) biomedical technician at Jimma Referral Hospital often stopped by to mentor the students.