Training and Education

One of our core values is excellence in care and treatment. Maintaining this standard necessitates continual health professional education among BCMCF-L staff, other health professionals in Lesotho, and visiting medical professionals from other countries.

Weekly continuing professional development courses are held every Friday at the Centre of Excellence and SCOEs. Topics include journal clubs on recently published articles, case presentations, and updates on relevant topics. All disciplines are invited to attend and present. BCMCF-L physicians and nurses are also invited to participate in the Lesotho Medical Association’s monthly activities. These services are currently suspended due to covid-19.

Baylor-Lesotho conducts clinically relevant operational research, assisting in the care of children at the COE, SCOEs and throughout Lesotho. Our research into outcomes and best practices supports our mission to continually improve and thoroughly understand what works best in caring for children with HIV, TB and malnutrition in our country’s unique setting. Results from any research conducted are used to improve care at the COE, throughout Lesotho and in other countries.

As Lesotho looks forward to achieving its goals regarding the HIV pandemic, it is of crucial importance to look critically back at our achievements—including in the clinical arena—and to use any lessons learned in refining future plans, especially in regards to the care of children infected or affected by HIV. Baylor-Lesotho is currently conducting a comprehensive medical audit of clinical and monitoring and evaluation records maintained at the COE and SCOEs between December 2005 and December 2019.

The main purpose of the audit is to learn from our experience in managing children with HIV with a view to improve the care being provided and to inform health policy as it relates to the care of children in Lesotho. A secondary objective is to share any appropriate findings with the wider health and medical fraternity.

There is no medical school in Lesotho; all doctors are trained in other countries, including our neighbour South Africa. On completion of their studies, the new doctors are expected to come home for their 18-month internship programme. In the beginning of 2019, the Ministry of Health identified Baylor Maseru as one of the training sites for these interns, especially on paediatric HIV and TB. They rotate at Baylor Maseru for a period of two weeks, during which time they are attached to different clinical departments and learn how we provide services to our patients. To date, we have had 18 interns, all of whom have given positive feedback about the training they received at our site.

For many years, BCMCF-L has offered a visiting scholar program for pediatric residents from the United States. This program presents an invaluable opportunity for an immersive global health experience and at the same time benefits our full-time staff with fresh ideas, knowledge, and enthusiasm. Most visiting scholars serve for one month at our COE where they see patients under the supervision of an attending physician. We strive to include our visiting scholars in all aspects of patient care and educational activities including outreach.