HIV Medic Training and Education Programme 2008

[Guest guest]

AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION INDIA CARES IN COLLABORATION WITH INDIRA

GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY (IGNOU) NEW DELHI Announce

HIV Medic Training and Education Programme 2008

Training Community Members as AIDS Healthcare Workers in the Fight

against AIDS Course duration 3 months October – December, 2008

SEATS: 30

Applications or nominations of candidates for enrollment in the 2008

HIV MEDIC TRAINING PROGRAM is open.

Health NGOs, CBOs working in HIVAIDS field and eligible candidates from Delhi

and NCR may apply for a seat by sending CV/Biodata and relevant documents by

courier / Registered letter labeling the cover with

" APPLICATION FOR HIV MEDICS PROGRAM " to:

The Training Coordinator,

HIV MEDICS 2008

AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION – INDIA CARES

S7 Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017

Chinkholal.thangsing@...

Background: HIV Medics are paraprofessional healthcare workers trained

to assist clinicians in the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART)

for people living with HIV. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the

largest provider of specialised HIV medical care in the United States,

developed the programme to address the shortage of healthcare workers

in resource-constrained countries. The HIV Medics program is presently

conducted in Uganda, Zambia, Vietnam and India.

HIV Medics provide assistance to healthcare providers such as doctors

and nurses in the initial patient screenings, complete patient

histories and triage of patients. They assist physicians and nurses

for physical exams and the initiation of ART. They also assist the

nurses in phlebotomy, dispensing medications and provide medication

adherence counselling and HIV testing. Shifting of these

aforementioned tasks to the HIV Medics frees up physicians, nurses and

other healthcare professionals for more complex tasks and enables them

to see more patients. These factors contribute to the overall goal of

increasing the number of people receiving ART and improving the

quality of care.

The HIV Medic training is designed for students with no prior medical

training or experience. The training programme is intensive and covers

12 weeks of full-time study.

Lessons Learned from AHF International Experiences

• HIV Medics program offers a practical hands-on solution to increase

the human capacity needed to expand HIV treatment and care in

resource-poor countries.

• HIV Medics program can be replicated in other developing countries

with high HIV prevalence.

• HIV Medics represent a unique cadre

Recommendations

• With full supervision from doctors, nurses and clinical officers,

HIV Medics have freed the hands of nurses to provide critical care to

ill clients while the Medics assist with counselling, triage,

adherence education, dispensing, HIV testing, home visits.

• This shifting of tasks has enabled clients to be quickly scaled up

onto ART instead of being on the waiting list for long. It has also

eased staff burn out as there are extra hands to fill the gap.

• Ultimately it has improved on quality of care as more time can be

spent with individual patients.

• There is further need to train more lay providers considering the

short time it takes to complete the training, good quality of work

they do and the urgent need to fill the human resource gap if we are

to achieve UNIVERSAL ACCESS BY 2010.

Course Duration: 3 months starting from October till December 2008.

Eligibility: HIV Medic students must have minimum high-school

equivalent education or above, read and write English and be able to

commit to the full 12 weeks of training in order to enter the training

programme.

In addition, HIV Medics are often HIV positive themselves.

Fee: One time registration fee of Rs.1500 will be levied. All

training materials, uniforms, food, transportation and modest stipend

will be provided.

Course Outline:

Didactic Knowledge

Students participate in six weeks of classroom teaching

Clinical Skills

Students receive six weeks of clinical clerkships. The first two weeks

are in the classroom where students learn and practice simple clinical

skills

Guided Clinical Practice

The remaining four weeks of clinical clerkships are spent on guided

practice of knowledge and skills. Students rotate through the

following types of facilities under the guidance of physicians,

clinical officers and nurses.

Faculty Details: HIV Medic program will be taught by in-house and

eminent national and international faculties.

About AHF India Cares: `India Cares' under the aegis of AIDS

Healthcare Foundation was established in 2004 in India and registered

as a Trust in 2006 in New Delhi. The Trust carries forward the vision

and mission of AHF. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is estimated to be

2.4 million and increasing number of people falling sick need care and

treatment. Changing the course of the HIV epidemic of such enormous

scale and measures cannot be restricted to prevention and awareness

alone as people are dying. People living with HIV and AIDS require

treatment, care and support. Denial of treatment and discrimination in

accessing healthcare is rampant and prohibitive medical expenses

points to an acute need for treatment and care for such people. We in

`AHF India Cares' enable people living with HIV and AIDS to gain

access to health care services free of cost.

ALL CORRESPONDENCE/COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE ADDRESSSED TO:

The Training Coordinator,

AIDS Healthcare Foundation India Cares

S 7 Panchsheel Park

New Delhi 110017 INDIA

+91-11-41745541

+91-11-41745542

+91-11-47145543 [Fax]

www.aidshealth.org

Providing Cutting-Edge Medicine and Advocacy, Regardless of Ability to Pay

AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION INDIA CARES

Nomination/Application Form

HIV Medic Training and Education Programme – 2008

(To be filled in by the nominee/applicant in CAPITAL LETTERS)

NAME & SURNAME:

GENDER: M/F

AGE:

DATE OF BIRTH:

NATIONALITY:

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

WORK EXPERIENCE:

NAME OF ORGANISATION DESIGNATION DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT

ENCLOSURES:

1. Please enclose all necessary academic statements

2. Copy of bio-data/ CV

3. Statement of purpose (A paragraph stating professional goals and

career plans including plans and expectations in pursuing this

certificate program)

ADDRESS FOR COMMUNICATION:

DATE:

SIGNATURE

Nomination/Application form with enclosed CV and statement of purpose

should be forwarded by post to:

The Course Coordinator,

HIV Medics 2008

AIDS Healthcare Foundation India Cares

S 7 Panchsheel Park

New Delhi 110017 INDIA

www.aidshealth.org