The Department of Internal Medicine was established about 50 years ago, in response to deadly malaria outbreaks in the surrounding regions. We continued our activities, as part of the referral and teaching hospital, initially staffed by expatriate physicians and teachers and gradually replaced by Ethiopian nationals. By 1978, our clinical service and teaching activities were upgraded to the Department of Internal Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine, initially under the auspices of Addis Ababa University.
Currently our Department functions under the School of Medicine, within the University of Gondar and offers teaching, research and community service.
We provide teaching to both undergraduate and postgraduate students within the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS). Our undergraduate program includes the provision of block courses and attachments for the following programs: Medicine, Health Officer, Anesthesia, Physiotherapy.
Under our postgraduate program we offer:
- Internal Medicine Residency (Specialty certificate) launched January 2012. The training is a three year program. We have 14 first year residents and 5 second year residents. The teaching comprises of rotating clinical attachments (OPD, wards and ICU), seminars, journal club, grand round, clinic pathological sessions, case discussions and sub specialty attachments;
- Clinical Tropical Infectious Disease and HIV Medicine (MSC program) launched December 2011. The training is a two year program. We have 13 students from nursing and Health Officer BSC holders. Students also attach to other departments (public health, laboratory, Pediatrics, Gyn-Obs), but major topics are covered by our department. This Program is technically supported by I-TECH Ethiopia (US based NGO working on capacity building, health system strengthening and sustainability); and
- Short term courses to other health science students (undergraduate and postgraduate) on request.
Our staff also undertake a range of research activities individually as well as in collaboration with other partners.
Our Department has a long history of providing community services. We currently provide clinical services at Gondar University Hospital (which takes the lion’s share) and outreach activities in the community (chronic Illnesses and HIV care). At the University Hospital we provide clinical service in the following areas:
- Wards – including medical wards; Kalazar Treatment and Research center with patient treatment wards; TB treatment and Isolation ward – also treating MDR TB (second center of it’s kind in the country next to the center located in at Addis Ababa); Emergency ward treating medical emergency cases; and Medical ICU providing level 1 ICU services.
- Outpatient services – including
- Medical outpatient clinics – OPDs; and f
- ollow up specialty clinics throughout the week (Monday to Friday) covering Cardiac, Diabetic, Hypertension and renal, Neurology, Chest and Gastroenterology.
Visit our Community Service information page to learn more.
Contact Us
If you have any queries or would like to learn more about our work please contact:
- Name:
- Dr Desalew Mekonnen
- Job Title
- Head, Department of Internal Medicine
- Senior Clinical Advisor/I-TECH Ethiopia
- Email:
- desalewm@yahoo.com