Skip to Main Content
Internal Medicine
YSM Home

INFORMATION FOR

South Africa

Church of Scotland Hospital (COSH), Philanjalo

Institution

  • Church of Scotland Hospital in Tugela Ferry, KwaZuluNatal, 3 hour drive from Durban
  • Rural Government Hospital serving ~200,000 people in a region spanning ~2000 sq km
  • Affiliated with Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine
  • 350 beds
  • Approx 8 full-time physicians including 2-4 intern equivalent community service doctors doing preliminary-year equivalent rotations throughout the hospital

Disease Spectrum

  • A range of infectious diseases but most prominently HIV/AIDS and TB

Clinical Responsibilities

  • Inpatient: medical, tuberculosis, pediatric wards
  • Outpatient: antiretroviral clinic, and step-down facility adjacent to the hospital, MDR TB clinic 1 hour away (once a week)
  • ER/Casualty: Optional rotation with possibility of overnight call
  • Community outreach: home visits to rural countryside as well as mobile-clinic on Department of Health van, visits to nurse-run primary care clinics
  • Lectures: opportunity to present at doctors’ meetings
  • Opportunity to observe and/or participate in ongoing clinical research related to TB and HIV coinfection

Residents Accepted from:

  • Internal Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Emergency Medicine

Length of Rotation

  • Minimum of 6 weeks, including travel time from US

Logistics

  • Reimbursement Award amount: $3150
  • Transportation from Durban to Tugela Ferry is provided
  • Paperwork: allow several months for the processing of applications to three different agencies for the South African Volunteer medical license.
  • Language requirements: English. Local language is Zulu
  • Paperwork: allow several months for the processing of the Foreign Workforce Management Programme and the Health Professions Council of South Africa applications

Site-Specific Links

Read This!