Why choose Africa?
The work opportunity
A satisfying day at the office - rural doctors, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
A satisfying day at the office.
Despite its challenges, many people find working in rural and public health to be highly rewarding, for three major reasons:
- The opportunity to make a difference and to be truly appreciated for what you do by patients who are delighted and grateful to see you.
- The medical experience – immediately getting to work, hands on, with interesting conditions - from trauma to HIV/Aids, and gaining massive amounts of experience every day. Forget about Mrs Jones' common cold!
- The setting and the lifestyle – many of our rural hospitals our situated in beautiful environment – setting the tone for a safer, less stressful and more balanced way of life. Over and above this, in settings where the staff complement has started to grow, the social life tends to be very active indeed with activities, sporting events, beach parties and more.
Adding to this we are now ensuring excellent training and career development for rural doctors, this way of life becomes very tempting indeed.
To date, because of our exodus of local professionals, AHP has focused on recruiting foreigners wishing to spend a few years in service, while experiencing the beauty the southern African region has to offer. Since 2005, we have placed over 2100 healthcare professionals in this way.
Our next step is to get the local professionals back on board. To do this, we need to ensure viable long-term careers, training and support especially for those who have families. This process is rapidly getting underway, so watch this space to keep up to speed with the impending rural health renaissance!
