I-TECH’s long engagement with clinician education in Mozambique includes support for improvements to the national undergraduate (“pre-service”) curriculum for laboratory technicians (Técnicos Medio de Laboratório) to make the content more current and reflect the health care priorities of the country, including advances in HIV diagnostics and treatment monitoring. The curriculum is now standardized so that students at all health training institutes (HTIs) are taught using the same material and methods.
I-TECH has supported the revision of pre-service curricula for other health workers, including mid-level clinicians (Técnicos de Medicina Geral, TMGs) as well as monitoring and evaluation officers (Técnicos de Estatística), and a “bridging” course for basic-level clinicians (Agentes de Medicina, AG) to become mid-level TMGs.
I-TECH’s extensive support to building human resources to health has resulted in the in-service training of over 9,000 health workers and 750 trainers. Notable courses include supporting the needs of Mozambican nurses and AG by preparing them for new roles in HIV care (task shifting); training to HTI faculty to improve their teaching skills; and providing every graduating medical student with a course in HIV clinical care.
Previous work by I-TECH in Mozambique supported the development and implementation of standards for electronic medical records (EMRs) at antiretroviral treatment sites and data quality audits to improve data for decision-making.