Teaching Histology and Histopathology as a Surgical Registrar in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Background: Medical schools in the developing world have huge shortages in teaching personnel. The medical school in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is educating medical students to become doctors in a country facing huge economic hardships and with a health care system in crisis. Summary: I traveled to Bulawayo to work as a surgical registrar and taught histology and histopathology in the local medical school. Using the local hospital libraries and Internet resources and recruiting busy clinicians in Bulawayo to teach, we were able to set up the first Histopathology course taught in the medical school. The curriculum was decided by local clinicians and emphasized diseases that are prevalent in Zimbabwe. Conclusions: In an environment of a lack of university lecturers, local clinicians may be an excellent teaching resource. Teaching sessions and locations may be slightly unorthodox but basic science teaching can be delivered in clinical contexts that highlight the clinical relevance of factual information.

I acknowledge M. H. Cotton (Professor of Surgery, National University of Science and Technology), C. Mhlanga (Chairperson of the medical school), N. Ndiweni (Dean of the medical school), and Y. Malango (Lecturer at National University of Science and Technology).