COVID-19 Resilience Building Initiative: Medical Trainers Required

Doctors Worldwide’s COVID-19 response: Medical experts required for Telemedicine support, online teaching and development of easy to follow COVID-19 clinical case management flowcharts to support COVID-19 healthcare responses in low resource settings including in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal & where there is a need

Closing date: 23rd May, 2021

Recruitment will be being conducted on a rolling basis, early applications are strongly advised.

About DWW: Doctors Worldwide is a specialist medical charity based in the UK with a mission to support and collaborate with local communities to build and sustain quality healthcare services in both development and emergency settings. Over the last 19 years we have delivered over 95 medical projects, responded to 13 humanitarian crises and worked in 25 different countries. Together we have impacted more than 3 million lives and counting. Access to quality healthcare is not a privilege, it is a human right, and we work towards making that a reality, especially for the most vulnerable communities.

Our response: As part of our 2021 COVID-19 response activities, we will be focusing on resilience building through training, telemedicine, peer support for healthcare workers, as well as small scale infrastructure support where needed. As the world continues to face its first pandemic in living memory, it is the most vulnerable communities with little or no access to healthcare who will face the greatest consequences and lives lost. Urgent efforts to mobilise learning and resources to frontline health workers, as well as concentrated efforts on community awareness campaigns, will provide the greatest first line of defence against COVID-19 and save lives.

With an immediate start, we are looking for doctors and nurses to help us support healthcare organisations and practitioners in low resource settings by delivering a series of COVID-19 webinars, participate in Telemedicine support, offer peer support through a dedicated WhatsApp group, and support the content development of covid patient management flow charts. Humanitarian organisations have a collective responsibility to urgently prepare the local communities, partners and organisations who make up to 90% of the first responders in any worldwide crisis. With governments in lockdown, borders closed and airports grounded, humanitarian organisations are reminded once again that we must fulfil a core role of supporting local partners to stand on their own two feet, and that we must collectively work together as enablers in this worldwide crisis affecting us all.

Your role: DWW has reached out to various partners, colleagues, and organisations to identify impactful areas of support. We anticipate your role to consist of some or all the following responsibilities.

• You will contribute to online medical training and support to frontline healthcare workers in low resource settings, particularly countries that are currently facing a COVID wave e.g. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

• You will teach on various medical topics related to COVID-19 clinical care and the contextual needs of the healthcare organisation and/or practitioners on the ground.

• You will also introduce and train on case management flow charts and the application of medical protocols for healthcare workers managing COVID-19 patients.

• Through Zoom and/or Whatsapp groups, you will provide clinical and colleagueship support for healthcare professionals and organisations DWW is collaborating with.

*Please do recognise that this is a fast evolving and dynamic situation on the ground, and that the role may be subject to change based on a change of assessed needs. More opportunities and responsibilities may arise including other countries as we understand the needs further. We will keep you updated and notified of any changes, and your participation is voluntary*

Teaching: Educational themes will consist of, but are not limited to:

• Clinical management of COVID-19

• Management on COVID-19 resurgence in low resource settings

• COVID-19 Vaccine Education, Uptake and Community Engagement

• Case Management Flow Charts, Care Pathways, and COVID-19 Protocols

• DWW COVID-19 checklists training

Support and mentorship will consist of:

• Supporting LMIC frontline workers in Whatsapp groups (or other similar platform)

• Zoom conference calls for questions and advice in managing COVID-19 response

• One-to-one clinical mentorship via Zoom

Who we need: We are looking for medical doctors and nurses with backgrounds in:

• Emergency Medicine

• Critical Care Medicine

• Respiratory Medicine

• Infectious diseases

• Acute medicine

• Internal medicine

• Public Health

• Medical education

• Palliative Care

We are particularly looking for healthcare workers experienced in managing COVID-19 patients both at secondary and primary care level.

Location: We are currently in conversation with partners in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and India. Our intention is to provide global support as we continue to engage with more healthcare workers.

How to apply:

Application:

Please complete and submit the following:

1. The online application form here

2. Select: “COVID-19 Resilience Building Initiative Medical Expert”

3. Please upload a CV and a brief Cover Letter (1 page max) directly outlining your experience, qualifications, and interest in the role.

4. Please provide 2 references to be contacted. Note: only those who are selected for an interview will undergo reference checks.

5. Please provide proof of medical certification (ex. GMC number)

6. Please state your availability for support (i.e. hours per week) in your Cover Letter

7. Recruitment will be conducted on a rolling basis. Candidates will be contacted as soon as possible.

CPD credits

A letter of support can be provided should you choose to register this activity as part of your CPD.

Situation Background: Since the start of the pandemic, Doctors Worldwide has been working with several countries and healthcare organisations around the world providing technical guidance, support and PPE, particularly in low-resourced settings. Using 19 years of medical expertise and drawing on information and resources from around the world, four checklists were put together by Doctors Worldwide in March 2020 to provide a starting point for local health projects, NGOs and health facilities in low-resourced settings who are preparing for COVID-19:

• Checklist 1 – Prepare: Logistically

• Checklist 2 – Prepare: Medically

• Checklist 3 – Prepare: Infection Prevention, Control & PPE

• Checklist 4 – Prepare: Your Community

You can download the checklist here. The checklists are designed for use by the entire team within a health facility or programme setting. This is to ensure a comprehensive understanding across all staff, whether clinical or management, of all the preparation steps as they respond to an outbreak. The four comprehensive checklists have been developed for local organisations, health projects, local community groups and health facilities that operate in low-resource and humanitarian settings. As a result we achieved:

• 400+ downloads of the preparedness checklists to date

• 123,000 people in clinics and refugee camps benefited from implementation of the checklists

• 100% of checklist users felt the checklist were strongly or highly implementable in their setting.

In addition, DWW is developing simple, easy to use clinical case management flowcharts to manage COVID-19 patients in SARI wards and secondary care settings. These include:

1. Management of moderate COVID-19: pneumonia treatment
2. Management of severe COVID-19: severe pneumonia treatment
3. Management of critical COVID-19: acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
4. Management of critical COVID-19: septic shock
5. Prevention of complications in hospitalized and critically ill patients with COVID-19
6. Antivirals, immunomodulators and other adjunctive therapies for COVID-19
7. Corticosteroid therapy and COVID-19
8. Treatment of other acute and chronic infections in patients with COVID-19
9. Management of neurological and mental manifestations associated with COVID-19
10. Noncommunicable diseases and COVID-19 (including comorbidities)

We are looking for content developers to help develop some of these flowcharts. Please inquire if interested.