Dzakah health foundation is Non-Profit making foundation that aims at sourcing help from both local and international professionals, interns, students and volunteers, who are willing to learn, train, teach and share useful ideas to help with healthcare delivery in Ghana. This foundation, among many others, is a hospital and community based interactive initiative and care delivery program aimed at extending healthcare to the Ghanaian people with few outreach bases when necessary. There are different departments, hospitals and clinics with general and specialist practitioners who are willing to interact with volunteers to promote a common goal. One of our main focuses of this volunteering service is to help ease pressure on the local care providers who are serving large population with few resources and most importantly to help the less privileged and remote areas receive equal and quality healthcare. Professionals/interns/students/volunteers will also get the chance to learn other skills to enrich their experiences and resumé in diverse ways as far as health care delivery is concerned. They will also get the opportunity to experience work life of the Ghanaian health practitioner and as well get exposed to Ghanaian culture.
1. Assisting students during their internships.
2. Organizing outreaches and workshops.
3. Conducting and assisting in research and other educational/healthcare projects and services.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
1. Ghanaian and Foreign Medical and Nursing students or students in any other health related field who want to:
a. enroll for an internship program
b. gain experience through volunteering in Ghana
c. research into our healthcare system
d. do their health related project work in Ghana with assistance
e. help to improve and promote healthcare delivery in Ghana
2. Ghanaian and Foreign healthcare professionals/institutions with recognized valid license who are:
a. interested in working in Ghana.
b. interested in joining an outreach program Ghana.
c. interested in volunteering in Ghana.
d. interested in organizing workshops in Ghana.
e. interested in researching into the Ghanaian healthcare system
f. interested in teaching in our medical and nursing schools
SERVICES / ORIENTATION PROGRAMS
1. Assistance in travelling
2. Airport pick-up and drop-off
3. Provision of accommodation plus feeding options
4. Orientation on the living environment and culture of the people
5. Discussion with students on their expectations and assigned projects
6. Orientation class on the following topics:
a. Introduction to the practice of applicant’s respective fields of interest. E.g. medicine, nursing, public/community health, health information and research etc in Ghana.
b. Rules and regulations in the Ghanaian hospitals, clinics and safety during community visits.
c. Manual/electronic documentation and challenges in Ghanaian practices.
d. Routine work schedules and home activities.
e. Channel of communication for complaints and suggestions both at work and home
f. Interactive periodic classes for further assessment and discussion of new developments.
7. Outreaches when necessary
8. Discussion on tourism
REQUIREMENTS:
- BE PROFICIENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
-FILL AND SUBMIT AN ENDORSED APPLICATION FORM
LOCATIONS
The health project is carried out in the Volta Region. Depending on availability and preferences, volunteering positions are available in hospitals, schools and homes at the following locations:
· kpando
· Ho
· Dzodze
· Anfoega
· Hohoe
· Sogakope
AREAS OF INTEREST AND THEIR MAIN ACTIVITIES
The tasks and activities carried out by volunteers depend on their profession and interests. Healthcare can be delivered in hospitals, schools, and homes. If possible, outreaches will be organized to provide care to people living in remote areas.
GENERAL/SPECIALIST MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS
Yes, be part, let the world benefit from your expertise, administering an injection, giving a lecture or doing surgery in a hospital situated in a very small town will go a long way to affect patients throughout their lives. With the increasing demand for quality healthcare in Ghana, several stakeholders such as non-governmental agencies, philanthropists, donors, outreach groups, and volunteers have contributed to increased access to basic healthcare in diverse ways.
Hospitals involved in the health foundation include regional, municipal and district hospitals that are well equipped to help specialists in doing their work. General medical practitioners, anesthesiologists, urologists, obstetricians, pediatricians, gyaenacologists, ophthalmologists, nutritionists, physiotherapists, surgical technicians and laboratory technicians are of key interest to us. Those specialists who wish to work in operation theatres (ORs) will be allowed into our equipped theatres.
On occasion, arrangements are put in place to organize an outreach program in a collaborative manner to help prepare the people and help make necessary announcements and book cases down prior to their visit. This is a supportive arrangement that may be used to ensure enough patient contact hours for professionals/interns/volunteers.
NURSING
Nurses (students) are needed in all areas to help strengthen our healthcare delivery system. For nursing students, the exact content of an internship will depend on their institutional policies and the hospitals they are assigned to. In general, nursing volunteers will run the regular working hours shifts, they will interact, observe and deliver care when necessary and permissible. They will participate in clinical meetings, ward rounds and outreach sessions.
TRAINEES AND INTERNS
This provides an excellent opportunity for volunteers to interact and share ideas with other students of the same faculty, especially with Ghanaian students who are on their clinical/practical fields. Trainees and interns will run shifts depending on the volunteer’s qualifications and job description. They will observe, assist or provide care during their respective shifts. The content of an internship will depend on their institutional policies and the hospitals they are assigned to. The program will help the trainee/intern to fulfill the requirements as set by their educational institution. Those students who don’t have a specific assignment during their time of volunteering will have the privilege of rotating through the different departments of the hospitals depending on their respective fields of interests.
PRE-MEDS AND NONPROFESSIONALS
This program also aims at helping nonprofessionals, pre-meds and pre-nursing students to help them gain experience in health care to contribute to their future professional career. There are flexible general and specific modules that will suit individuals and groups. In this category, we have different types of projects that suit other individuals whose interest areas are not in hospital setting or hospital related.
EDUCATION
We are looking for lecturers, clinical educators/coordinators and supervisors to mentor and enrich students and practitioners through organization of seminars, demonstrations, simulations, practical sessions and workshops. Upon contact, we work together to do all the necessary arrangements prior to your arrival. It is however, in our best interest to make sure your valuable time is well spent. Furthermore, we are also open to suggestions and recommendations during planning.
LABORATORY SERVICES
Most lab technician volunteers will be helping in screening at outreach programs and they will work with or under supervision in a relatively low-resource laboratory when outreach programs are not in session. Those who have higher knowledge in this field will also be asked to share their rich experiences with the newly qualified personnel in this field.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES
Being a developing country, Ghana over the years has invested much in public health and its workers. Professionals/interns/students/volunteers who have interest and education in public health can work in our local community and clinics. They will provide for example: VCT, psychiatry, reproductive and child health services, antenatal and postnatal services to the communities they serve. Researching into this area of healthcare is also of outmost interest to us. These services will be provided in or out of the hospital depending on the hospitals' schedules and the internship requirements of the students during those periods.
PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICES
Physiotherapists (students) are needed to help facilitate rehabilitation care to different patients. They will share ideas, educate, learn and interact with other professionals, students and patients. Some of the hospitals are relatively well equipped whilst others have little to no physiotherapy equipment or department. Therefore, volunteers are encouraged to be very innovative and supportive in this area.
COMMUNITY NUTRITION SERVICES
Some hospitals have dietitians and other personnel who are in close contact with patients who need education on their dietary regimens. They help plan their meals and also teach them how best to combine the best available local foods to prepare a nutritious diet. On occasion, volunteers will be helping on outreach programs.
RESEARCH
We invite professionals/interns/students/volunteers to evaluate and improve our existing healthcare system. We believe the results will help to improve care, encourage safe practices, discover new methods, examine what is already in use and discourage bad practices. We are also open to implement recommendations from previous research. An important component that has to be taken into consideration in this area is seeking ethical clearance and approval from the institutions prior to any action. All forms of actions under research are never to be conducted in isolation. And all experiments and data collections must never violet the ethics of the institutions and the country.
PROFESSIONALS
Professionals who are licensed and of good standing with their regulatory bodies are welcome to help in care delivery in Ghana. Those who have retired and are willing to participate are also welcome, however, their involvement will be determined by the institutional policies. Professionals will either work independently or with a resident practitioner. Background checks will be conducted if necessary. It is in our very best interest to seek quality healthcare for our people but never to put their lives at unimaginable risk and danger.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
· DISCIPLINED AND LICENCED PRACTITIONERS ARE PART OF OUR TEAM
· WE ARE CONNECTED TO MANY HOSPITALS AND CLINICS
· WE HAVE FLEXIBLE TIME SCHEDULES FOR ALL YEAR VISIT
· WE PROVIDE AROUND THE CLOCK SUPPORT AND SUPERVISION
· WE HAVE INTERACTIVE AND INTEGRATING PROGRAMS TO HELP YOU KEEP UPDATED THROUGHOUT YOUR STAY
· CONTENTS OF OUR PROGRAMS ARE VERY EDUCATIVE
· WE ASSIST YOU IN YOUR ASSIGNED PROJECT WORKS
· WE ORGANIZE OUTREACHES TO SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
· ASSISTANCE IN TOURISM
· PROVISION OF SAFE AND COMFORTABLE ACCOMMODATION
· PROVISION OF SAFE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
· AND MANY MORE ON REQUEST!!!
PROJECT COORDINATOR
[ RICHARD YAO ]
The clinical arrangement, placements of students and coordination of activities of this foundation is done by the coordinator, a Certified Registered Anesthetist (CRA) who has worked in many Ghanaian hospitals. He has gathered extensive working experiences in fields of General nursing, Community health nursing, Psychiatry nursing, emergency and theatre nursing. He also has experience in working with other volunteers over the years. He is currently practicing as a CRA in one of our contact hospitals.
NOTE:This document is only intended to equip the reader with the overall summary of what we do. It is offered as a sample for reference and not intended to totally represent what we are as a health foundation. This document also serves same purpose for other foundations or organizations for which we serve as their coordinators. Brochures on various fields of interest and applications forms are available upon request. We are however ready for further explanations, discussions, recommendations and collaborations upon contact.
CONTACTS:
Tel: +233209071232 (als0 available on WhatsApp)
Email: dzakah.health.foundation@gmail.com
