Friday 27th September
Today is the last day of the
Teaching the Trainers Mental Health Skills Course. The students were due to
have the last day tomorrow, though expressed that they wished to complete the
course instead today, which is usually a holiday. Participants lead the
re-cap session first thing in the morning, something they have improved at
greatly during the course of the week. They comment that they have developed an
increased confidence when teaching their peers, something they found daunting
at the start of the week. This renewed confidence is visible by the rest of us
and will stand these doctors in good stead during their careers as hard-working
doctors here in Somaliland, where the pressures on them are great, given the
need for their services.
The doctors have all, in their
groups, prepared a teaching session for the rest of us, using a learning
resource as a focus for their teaching they are using the WHO document
mhGAP-IG, which is an intervention guide, developed to aid non-specialists
manage neurological, mental health and substance misuse disorders. Today, the
doctors’ focus is on how they can teach effectively using this resource. In
order to really test their teaching skills, we as an audience challenge them,
with more difficult questions, distractions and interruptions to their
teaching. This is a fun but also useful exercise, utilised to try and take them
one step further. I am pleased to witness the doctors meeting the challenge and
overcoming them, testament again to how much their confidence has increased
during the week. We talk more about how one might broach teaching difficult
topics in Somaliland, mental illness being one of these such topics, and in
pairs they present challenges faced in teaching about mental illness and ways
in which they might overcome such challenges through their choice of teaching
techniques. Again, the participants demonstrate both imagination and creativity
when presenting their ideas. I am truly impressed by the doctors who have
attended this course. The hope is that they may go on and act as leaders for
their juniors, that they may pass on this knowledge and supervise others who
may then rise up into the same roles.
The doctors complete various
post-course questionnaires at the end of the day, in order that we can review
the course and improve it for next time. A number of doctors also take part in
post-course filmed interviews, which can act as a record of their views and
expectations both before the course began and afterwards. They comment that
they are happy with the way the course has gone and most of all their own
progress. We award certificates to those that have attended and agree to meet
later in the week.
I am pleased with the outcome of
the training and will use the very helpful feedback from the doctors in order
to improve the next training. It is likely that this training will be
continuing in Somaliland, in order to allow the doctors here to take this lead
role in their chosen specialties.
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