From December 2008 to February 2009, Amjad Salman, trainee general practitioner in Voorschoten, took part in the IOM TRQN project. He worked as a trainee specialist in a psychiatric hospital in Karthoum.
Because Amjad could speak the same language as his colleagues and patients, it had a positive effect on their cooperation. Amjad, “At the hospital there was little time for the transfer of knowledge and in-house training. The necessary medical care was provided, but that was all. I tried to encourage communication between doctors and nursing staff. Unfortunately, most of the Sudanese doctors are so “frugal” with their acquired knowledge that they are reluctant to share it with the nursing staff. In Sudan the relations are different from those in the Netherlands. During the three months I spent in the hospital, I transferred as much knowledge to the nursing staff as possible. I still receive e-mails from former colleagues with positive feedback.”
Amjad’s future lies in the Netherlands. But he will remain actively connected with his country of origin. He thus works as a volunteer for an organization that ships obsolete medical equipment from the Netherlands to Sudan. Amjad: “The IOM projects created quite a stir within me. I would like to get Sudanese doctors to the Netherlands for short traineeships, for instance. In this way, we encourage a two-way transfer of knowledge and experience.”
