Mental health training in Somaliland – Day 6

Day 6 - Monday 23^rd September

An early start to begin the Mental Health Skills Training course in Hargeisa. This is a ‘teaching the trainers’ course.  I shall be teaching mainly new doctors and junior doctors teaching skills that they may utilise in their own practice. This is the first time such a course has been run in mental health and it is an exciting opportunity. 15 participants attend, and I find I know many of the participants as they were medical students when I taught in 2012 in Somaliland. It is a real privilege to be here and to be able to facilitate their development further. They have all recently graduated as new doctors. 

Also on the course are more senior doctors who wish to improve their teaching skills. Many of the course participants comment that they have rarely taught using techniques other than lectures/ powerpoint, and they are keen to learn. They are also aware that their involvement in the course has changed, and rather than being passive recipients of information that is given, during this course they will all be practicing their teaching skills. Some are confident, others a little more nervous, though as the day progresses, I am impressed by their level of interaction. We spend today thinking about what makes a good teacher, what skills a teacher needs to use, what different roles a teacher may take on and how teaching is very much linked to professionalism, leadership, team work, supervision and audit. Most doctors were not familiar with audit, something which is very much needed here in Somaliland to improve the quality of services. 

Mental health training in Somaliland - Day 5

Day 5 - Sunday 22^nd September

This morning begins with a meeting with the Dean and the head of clinical work at Hargeisa University, to discuss the upcoming medical student teaching. This year we are due to teach a total of 68 5^th year medical students, which is a record number. We will have to adapt our plans to facilitate this number and the meeting discusses such plans.  Following this meeting I head back to the THET office where I take part in a filmed interview with Naj, a Somalilander, who currently lives in London, though is undertaking a placement with THET to document the work we are doing. She would like to film my current work as a volunteer and the interview is focused on my current hopes and expectations for my extended trip. 

Mental health training in Somaliland - Day 4

Day 4 - Saturday 21^st September

Further preparation for the teaching on Monday. I meet today with a previous mental health representative, Dr Adam, at the Mansoor hotel. Dr Adam was previously chosen for the position of mental health rep as he was keen to learn more about psychiatry and teaching.  Mental health reps are newly qualified doctors, who are chosen competitively each year for the position. They assist KTSP in the annual teaching of medical students, which gives them the opportunity to improve their teaching skills and gain leadership and team working skills.  They also participate in online supervision and act as mental health advocates in Somaliland amongst their peer group. Many previous reps are still heavily involved in psychiatry/mental health work, and some have made great progress with projects they have started and published articles about their work.  

Mental health training in Somaliland - Day 3

Day 3 – 20^th September 2013

The weekend in Somaliland is Friday and so I spend today preparing for my course on Monday, emailing friends, having Skype discussions with those in more distant places. I also receive supervision from Dr Susie Whitwell, Consultant Psychiatrist and Lead for KTSP. 

Mental health training in Somaliland - Day 2

Day 2 – 19^th September 2013

An early start in the THET office to meet with the team to discuss my schedule for the next 8 weeks. The time will fly by I have no doubt, as every day is planned out.  Dr Mariam, a member of the mental health group, also joins the meeting. She has been busy organizing participants for the Mental Health Training Skills course we shall run next week in Hargeisa. I work alongside Samatar to get the resources we will need ready, and we discuss how we might manage a potential of nearly 70 5^th year medical students to teach at the end of my trip. I communicate via telephone and email to Dr Jibriil in Borama, who is working hard to prepare those in Borama for the upcoming courses. 

Having conducted a final Skype interview yesterday for a potential applicant for the yearly position of mental health rep, we make the final decision today. Mental health reps are two newly qualified doctors, who are chosen annually via a competitive and standardized application process and who will take an active role in the teaching of psychiatry to medical students later in the year, as well as take a lead role in the advocacy of mental health in Somaliland. They are offered mentorship from seniors in the UK via the platform Medicine Africa and so gain added skills in team work, leadership, teaching and management, all of which are integral to any career they may later choose in Medicine/ Surgery. This extended trip of mine means that I will be available to work more closely with them prior to the annual medical student teaching, which this year will occur earlier than usual in October. 

I finish up my day by talking with Naj, a Somalilander who currently lives in London and is a documentary film maker. She is currently working alongside THET to develop a documentary detailing their work and my journey, with others who shall follow me. We map out potential opportunities during my trip for filming and we arrange to meet on Sunday for our first interview. 

Mental Health training in Somaliland - Day 1

Delivering Psychiatry Training in Somaliland

Dr Lauren Gavaghan is a Specialist Psychiatrist and Mental Health lead for the King's THET Somaliland Partnership (KTSP). She is spending eight weeks in Somaliland as a volunteer teaching Mental Health (MH) to medical students and delivering a Training of Trainer (TOT) course for MH focal people and Medical Faculties.

Everyday until the 8th November Dr. Gavaghan will be posting a new diary entry on the THET blog page to give readers a unique insight into delivering mental health training in Somaliland. 

Here's the first...

 Day 1 - 18th September 2013

Arriving from Nairobi on the ECHO humanitarian flight was a familiar journey this time. I have visited Somaliland twice before as a volunteer, working alongside THET, though only for 2 weeks at a time. This time my trip is for 2 months. I am excited, yet also a little nervous given the longer time period and the fact that this time I leave the UK alone- with co-workers arriving later on during my trip to work with me.

I am pleasantly surprised by the new runway at Hargeisa airport, which makes for a softer landing than in May when we landed in the bush.

As always, I am greeted at the airport by the driver from THET, who rapidly teaches me some Somali on the way to the THET office, which I rapidly forget!

I meet the team, most of whom I have met before and at once feel at home again. Samatar, the Logistics and Security Officer runs me through a further security briefing and the logistics of my extended trip. I also meet with Thomas the Programme Manager and Wario, the Country representative.  A number of emails and phone-calls later, and I have plans for the following day, to meet with members of the Core Mental Health Working group, a group made up of doctors who have an interest in mental health, many of whom have been mental health representatives in the past and continue to advocate for better mental health in Somaliland. 

Students in Somaliland receiving mental health training

To find out more about THET's work in Somaliland, visit our Somaliland Programme page.

Galvanizing Health Partnerships to Create a Movement

Blog from Christina Chandra. Christina is working as a communications intern for THET this summer. She is a senior at Yale University majoring in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. 

Last evening I made my second trip to the Houses of Parliament. This time, instead of visiting as a tourist, I had the privilege of being a guest at the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health’s report, Improving health at home and abroad: How overseas volunteering from the NHS benefits the UK and the world. The report addresses the role of NHS staff who volunteer overseas in advancing health globally and bringing new knowledge, skills and ideas back to the UK, and what can be done to facilitate this work further. The gathering hosted around a hundred people working in the health sector, from those that have volunteered abroad to those who have expertise in sending volunteers abroad.

After shaking off my initial daze from soaking in the experience, I had the chance to reflect on the meaning of this report and how it directly impacted the people in the room. As an outsider looking in, what I found was a community of passionate people in the same line of work who have an opportunity to work together to put their work on the radar of leaders who will be able to support their continuing success in the future.

For example, Kevin Barron, MP to Rother Valley and a speaker at the event, is one such leader who has been convinced that partnerships are great for both his constituency and for communities overseas. His excitement about the report stemmed from his knowledge of the work of secondary school links in his constituency to schools in Africa.  The enthusiasm he expressed about partnerships is the enthusiasm that more MPs should have for health partnerships, specifically. The benefits of volunteering have been clearly outlined and should be passed on. Health partnerships can meet with their MPs and tell them about the amazing work their health partnerships have been able to achieve. If this happens, I can see that the next time such an event happens, there will be a plethora of MPs lined up to proudly talk about the health partnerships within their constituencies.

As the room filled with chatter following the speeches and Q&A session, I could see that people were no doubt excited about health partnerships. People were sharing their stories with each other and making connections for future collaboration. I believe this enthusiasm can be translated into action. The report stated that health partnerships are often ‘under the radar’, but with this report, the opportunity has presented itself to put health partnerships on the radar and to make volunteering the norm, not the exception. Now it’s up to health partnerships to pave the way by sharing their stories with the wider community.

If you are reading this and have been involved in a health partnership, there are a few things you can do to contribute to the movement for creating an enabling environment for people who want to volunteer through health partnerships: write, share, and tell. Find out more ways to get involved with THET’s advocacy toolkit for health partnerships.

Join the movement. Support Volunteers. Act Now.