Diplomatic World_nummer 57

These phenomenal women and men left their families,
country and patients for periods of 3 to 18 months, believing
in their ability to make a significant difference to health
care in Ghana. The training program undertaken by Sheba’s
senior staff included presentations, lectures, workshops,
clinical work, tours, medical literature reviews, conferences
and more. The many subjects covered included: the principles
of hospital management; management of care models:
protocols, medical records and clinical standards; personnel
management: employee recruitment and retention; conflict
management skills; Implementation of new technologies
and equipment; patient safety and risk management; IT in
the medical field; principles of bioethics: health promotion
messages and preparing for the new hospital.
The Sheba Medical center is proud to act as a facilitator
for this project, combining the many different elements of a
hospital together and making them into a single viable entity.
Most of the Ghanaian medical staff did not know each other
before arriving at SMC; clinical, administrative and service
standards were non-existent and each of the selected leaders
had their own individual agenda, experience and habits.
Over the training session period, very close and warm
relationships developed between the Ghanaian and Sheba
teams and importantly among the newly recruited Ghanaian
staff. The feelings of the many nurses are best shown in the
wonderful letter we received:
“I deem it a great privilege to represent this group in thanking
all who have made this training program a success. Our utmost
gratitude goes to God almighty whose grace has been with us
from the onset till today. We say a big thank you for accepting
us and accommodating us during our clinical experience at
the various departments. Our appreciation also goes to Dr.
Ella Koren, Principal of the Ziva Tal Academic School of
Nursing and your vibrant team, who took us in and made your
premises available for some of our lectures, simulations and
demonstrations, and above all giving us a pool of knowledge to
tap from. Organising such an experience requires meticulous
planning and execution with an eye for detail. We cannot
thank you enough for all the care, love and support shown
towards us in these past three months: the food, shelter, our
numerous and diverse needs and demands and the tours.
In the words of Oscar Wilde, “the smallest act of kindness is
worth more than the grandest intention.”
God bless you all. We will miss you.
We look forward to seeing you in our new hospital in Ghana.”
It was SMC's greatest privilege and honor to be part of the
establishment of Ghana's new advanced academic medical
center. Our interaction with the wonderful and talented
personnel from Ghana was a truly enriching experience for
the staff of the Sheba Medical Center and we look forward
to a long lasting friendship and collaboration.
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