8,200 sit for allied health exams countrywide

Jun 23, 2014

Exams for allied health medical students across the country start on Monday with a total of 8,200 candidates expected to be tested for diploma and certificate qualifications.

By Taddeo Bwambale

Exams for allied health medical students across the country start on Monday with a total of 8,200 candidates expected to be tested for diploma and certificate qualifications.

Allied health practitioners work alongside other health professionals to provide diagnostic, technical, direct patient care and support services.

They are considered frontline health workers and include, among others, laboratory technicians, radiographers, anesthetists, paramedics, and physiotherapists.

This year, candidates will sit for the exams at 54 examination centres over the three-week period that runs up to July 12.

The exams are for students of radiography, pharmacy, medical entomology, clinical medicine and community health, environmental health, orthopaedic medicine, occupational therapy, anesthesia, orthopaedic technology, public health dentistry and dental technology.

Others are clinical psychiatry, ophthalmology, audiology, nutrition and community health, counseling and social care, ENT surgery, health promotion and education, medical records and health leadership and management.

While briefing invigilators on Saturday, Mansoor Ilahi, the Commissioner Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) appealed to the officials to exhibit integrity.

“We do not expect to have, see or hear cases of malpractices rooting from you because we aim to conduct leakage-free examinations,” he stated.

In an interview with New Vision, Kato Kimoga, the executive secretary of the Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board said 150 invigilators had been deployed to monitor the exams.

The demand for allied health workers in Uganda was rising given the increase in population, health facilities and migration of labour in the East African region, Kimoga revealed.

Uganda has 48 registered allied health training institutions, a sharp increase from 18 in 2010, Kimoga said, disclosing that more institutions had applied for licenses from the health ministry.

Charles Isabirye, an official from the health ministry’s training department disclosed that a recent survey had revealed a shortage of qualified anesthetists and theatre assistants.

He also cited a shortage of pharmacy dispensers, biomedical engineers and cold chain technicians (trained personnel who service vaccine fridges).

According to Isabirye, Mulago Paramedical Schools train about 30 anesthetists annually while Rubaga Mission Hospital trains five theatre assistants.

He said the ministry had partnered with several institutions to train more allied health workers said the demand for more medics had been included in the National Development Plan.

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