Ms Caroline Laurence, Dr Justin Beilby
An opportunity to forge a mutually beneficial link between two University Departments of General Practice has been created with the move of an academic GP from Australia to Nepal. Rural GPs from the Department of General Practice, Adelaide University, have been invited to assist the set up a new Department of General Practice in Dharan, Eastern Nepal. The main aim of the new department is to train general practitioners to staff remote district hospitals. For the Nepali Department, which is rurally based with very limited health resources, the link will bring visitors and access to resources and expertise. Materials developed by the Australian Department for medical students and GP trainees, will be of value to medical students and doctors in Nepal. These include documentation for curriculum, CDROM materials, and a website that has been designed to support Australian GPs in teaching medical students in their practices. Similar materials are being developed for postgraduate training. Many of tools developed to support GPs in rural and remote Australia will likely prove useful in a developing country like Nepal. The link also provides benefits for the Australian. Visits to Nepal by staff members will provide experience that broadens their perspective, engendering ideas and projects that will enrich the life of both departments. The networks created will be encouraging to both sides, with a new medical student elective in Nepal an early tangible result. In time, shared research projects and visits to Australia by Nepali GPs will be a possibility.