Rural posting

• Rural Posting is residential, experience-based learning and field visits to a defined rural community by medical students in Nigeria to complete the stipulated curriculum in undergraduate medical education
• Rural posting is a major aspect of Community Medicine or Public Health specialty, even at the postgraduate level
• Rural posting entails thorough supervision by experienced staff and on-site training by workers in various components and departments of Primary Health Care
• Objectives of Rural Posting:

  • Expose medical students to common health conditions and practice of medicine in rural settings different from Teaching Hospitals
  • Enable medical students to have practical hands-on experience in Primary Health Care
  • Provide an avenue for medical students to render public health services to the community by addressing health problems or improving social determinants of health
• Majority of Nigerians over 70% live and work in rural areas, making it important for doctors to be familiar with health conditions prevalent in low-resource rural settings
• Activities to achieve the objectives of Rural Posting:

  • Medical students reside within the identified community for days or weeks
  • Conduct community diagnosis to identify health problems and provide appropriate public health interventions
  • Similarity in approach between clinical medicine and community diagnosis: history > examination > investigations > diagnosis > treatment > follow up for curing the patient vs. talking to people > records > surveys > community diagnosis > priorities for action > community health programs > evaluate changes in health status for community diagnosis
• Clinical practice at Primary Health Care (PHC) centers involves rotational clinic duties in paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, and surgery
• During rural posting, students embark on group projects covering topics of public health importance, with each student expected to participate fully
• At the end of rural posting, students should have developed knowledge, skills, and experience in conducting Community Health Assessment, designing and implementing public health interventions, and providing Primary Health Care services
• Students should cultivate life skills in leadership, teamwork, interpersonal communication, community relations, and role modeling
• Students should appreciate the health and social challenges facing communities in low-resource settings and practical options for addressing them from both provider and community perspectives