PRIME

Partnerships in International Medical Education

Nepal

Nepal Palliative Care Certificate course delegatesPRIME has sent a number of teams to Nepal in the last seven years who have run programmes in many centres, contributing to family doctor training, faculty development, palliative care, mental health care development and training of rural pastors in basic health support.

We continue to be in virtual contact with Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) and Kathmandu Institute of Science and Technology medical school (KIST), supporting faculty staff.

PRIME activities in Nepal will primarily focus on mental health training programmes in future, as this remains an area of great need.

Experienced tutors from the UK and Australia have delivered mental health teaching to workers of Koshish a mental health charity, United Mission Nepal (UMN), CMC and a host of pastors and church workers. PRIME teams have also worked with a women’s group in Patan Church a transit centre in Kathmandu and health workers in Tanahun District and Tribhuvan university where they taught Psychiatrists and Psychologists in training and met with senior psychologists to discuss longer term training needs and plans that the team may be able to assist with in future.

It was a real pleasure to welcome one of our Nepali colleagues to our annual conference and hear first hand his experience of caring for mental health patients. We were also able to arrange for him to spend some time with several mental health authorities while he was in the UK.

PRIME tutors were central to the introduction of the first certificated palliative care programme in Nepal and we are delighted that this project has now been taken forward by local Nepalese tutors to improve the care of patients throughout the country.

PRIME tutors taught faculty staff in two nurse training schools.

PRIME has delivered two training programmes to church and community leaders in basic health care provision.