An International Collaboration for the Training of Medical Chief Residents in Rwanda

Background: The year-long position of chief medical resident is a time-honored tradition in the United States that serves to provide the trainee with an opportunity to gain further skills as a clinician, leader, teacher, liaison, and administrator. However, in most training programs in the developing world, this role does not exist.

Objectives: We sought to develop a collaborative program to train the first medical chief residents for the University of Rwanda and to assess the impact of the new chief residency on residency training, using questionnaires and qualitative interviews with Rwandan faculty, chief residents, and residents.

Methods: The educational context and the process leading up to the appointment of Rwandan chief residents, including selection, job description, and necessary training (in the United States and Rwanda), are described. One year after implementation, we used a parallel, mixed methods approach to evaluate the new chief medical resident program through resident surveys as well as semistructured interviews with key informants, including site chief residents, chief residents, and faculty. We also observed chief residents and site chief residents at work and convened focus groups with postgraduate residents to yield additional qualitative information.

Results: Rwandan faculty and residents generally felt that the new position had improved the educational and administrative structure of the teaching program while providing a training ground for future academicians.

Conclusions: A collaborative training program between developing and developed world academic institutions provides an efficient model for the development of a new chief residency program in the developing world.