Series: “Interview with the Author…”
The badEM crew interviewed Crystal Bae regarding her newly released article in AfJEM Volume 6 Issue 2 entitled: “Professional needs of young Emergency Medicine specialists in Africa: Results of a South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania & Ghana survey” Original Research by Crystal Bae, Heike Geduld, Lee A. Wallis, De Villiers Smit, Teri Reynolds
Link to open access article: Click here:
Corresponding Author: baecrystal@gmail.com
Tell us about yourself. How did you get involved in this field/this research?
I am a medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, interested in emergency medicine & global health. Last year, I was a former intern for the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM). During my time with AFEM, I met numerous graduates from new emergency medicine program. Fresh from graduating residency, many were close to my age & already consulting for the ministry of health, teaching medical students, & in charge of the entire emergency department. It was hard to imagine the pressure & responsibility from a recent residency graduate, viewed as the “expert”. AFEM & other stakeholders have been so invested in the development of emergency medicine programs, but have done very little to support those that have graduated from them. As a result, AFEM decided that providing support for young faculty & emerging leaders should be a priority. To do this, we wanted to first survey young faculty members to determine needs & areas for improvement.
What were the key findings from this study?
Recent graduates report that the best ways for AFEM to help new EM graduates is to continue advocacy programmes & the development of leadership & mentorship programmes. However, there is also a demand from these graduates for educational materials, especially online.
What do these findings mean within the African context?
There are only seven universities in Sub-Saharan Africa that have successfully graduated emergency medicine specialists; four of which are in South Africa. These new graduates by default are considered the experts and leaders in their field, & are often called upon for consultation by their government, universities, & other stakeholders. Supporting these young leaders is essential in the development of emergency care systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Check out the full-text open access article: Click here
More about AfJEM (excerpt from their newsletter)
AfJEM is an open access publication in the spirit of bringing #FOAMed to Africa. This is an important consideration, especially in a low to middle income setting where prospective readers, that may benefit from published information, will most likely not be able to access subscription based journal content. The AfJEM has no front end (author) or back end (reader) fees, and on top of that it offers a free Author Assist service that has been shown to reverse one in every four reject decisions (of manuscripts that fall within the journal’s scope) over the last five years.
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