Info for Visitors

 Department of Community Practice

Makerere University, Uganda

General information for visitors to Uganda:
        ·     Preparing for a trip to Uganda
        ·     Information about Kampala
        ·     The structure of elementary and university education in various countries
        ·     The structure of family physician training in various countries

Information for physicians who are acting as:  Examiner (for a postgraduate's dissertation)
        ·     University requirements for a postgraduate dissertation
        ·     Guidelines for the report that the examiner submits after evaluating the dissertation  [word document] 
        ·     Timetable for the postgraduate to follow during the process of doing a dissertation  [word document] 

Information for physicians who are acting as:  Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Community Practice
        ·   The curriculum for the 3-year Masters of Medicine (M.Med) in Community Practice:  (revised Jan 2003)  [ word document ]
        ·    External report by Dr. Nick Busing:  this is an excellent review of the strengths and weaknesses of the department in 2001
        ·    How to get appointed as a visiting lecturer  [word document]

Preparing for a trip to Uganda:

( this section is currently being updated )

Information about Kampala:

( this section is currently being updated )

The structure of elementary and university education in various countries:

In the UK and Africa:
P1-P3:
A level:
O level:

In the US:
Kindergarden:
Grade 1 - 12:    (note: "high school" is considered grades 9-12)
University:  4 years (Americans usually call this "going to college" instead of "going to university").  At most universities in the US, you can not specifically study medicine.  In otherwords, university education is separate from medical school education, and being accepted into a medical school is a completely separate application process from being accepted into an university.

The structure of family physician training in various countries:

In the UK:
- pre-registration:  5 years (ie. university includes medical training)
- 1 year as an intern:  after this intern year you are called a “doctor”
- 2 years a Senior House Officer (SHO):  during these 2 years you do 100% of the time in a hospital

- 1 year as a "GP registrar":
        - you are attached to a practice, and follow one general practitioner
        - 1 day each week you do coursework with other registrars
        - during this year you complete an “assesment” which consists of several parts and occurs over the whole year

- getting the MRCGP (Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners) is optional:
        - about 50% of GP’s in the UK have this MRCGP qualification
        - it consists of oral, MCQ, written, and video parts

In the US:
- university:  4 years; you can study any subject since there is no university degree in medicine
- medical school:  4 years (note:  many medical students work imbetween university and medical school)
- residency: 
        - for pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine:  residency is 3 years long
        - OB/GYN and psychiatry are 4 years long; general surgery is 5 years
        - internship is the first year of residency

In Uganda:
- medical school:  5 years
- intern year
- medical officer:  work somewhere as a medical officer for a minimum of 3 years
- masters program:  

University requirements for a postgraduate dissertation

The most complete information about the dissertation process and requirements is contained in the pamphlet entitled “Guidelines for Research Proposal, Thesis / Dissertation Writing and Examination” (2001).  This pamphlet is published by the School of Postgraduate Studies (who you can contact at this phone number: 041-530-983). 

Copyright 2004 - Last updated on: 15 Jan 2004
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