Medic to Medic

The overall aim of Medic to Medic is to guarantee payment of tuition fees to trainee health workers who have academic potential, but are in financial need. With this consistency of income, students are able to focus on their studies until graduation. We aim to support trainee health workers throughout their education, so that they can perform to the best of their ability. We want to add to the absolute numbers of health workers in training, in order that there are more graduates in countries with critical shortages. We target those who are under represented in the health professions, such as women or those from rural areas. After initially just supporting medical students we have gone on to support physiotherapists, pharmacists, nurse/midwives, clinical officers and mental health workers.

We partner with ten universities in Malawi, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Mzuzu University, St John of God College, Ekwendeni College of Health Sciences, Malawi University of Science & Technology, Trinity College, Mulanje Mission College, St Johns institute of Nursing, African Bible College, Malawi College of Health Sciences.

We have over 170 graduates in our alumni community and between 90-100 students in training each year.

Every year, we conduct a survey to assess the status of our graduates. In 2022 we had 163 alumni and a 98% response rate. The professional breakdown of our alumni include 76 (47%) doctors, 24 (15%) physiotherapists, 20 (12%) pharmacists, 21 (13%) mental health workers, 10 (6%) nurse midwives, five (3%) clinical officers, and one (1%) optometrist and one (1%) medical laboratory scientist. Three graduates (2%) did not complete the survey.

93% of graduates currently reside in their country of training (Malawi or Uganda). Twelve graduates reside outside their country of training with most pursuing further qualifications. These graduates reported that they are expecting to return home in the future.
 
32% of graduates have been involved in health promotion in a professional capacity via media outlets including newspapers, radio and television. 88% of graduates provide financial support in the form of school fees to their children or other relatives in secondary or tertiary education. 10% of graduates own a house and 46% own a car. 77% of graduates have financial responsibilities which include taking care of extended families.

The 2022 survey results demonstrate the wide-ranging effect our graduates have on their local communities through health promotion & financial support. Our alumni are involved in local fundraising and make regular contributions to enable Medic to Medic to support more students. Most importantly, 93% remain in the country in which they trained, strengthening human resources for health where they are needed most.