Job Title: Staff Anesthesiologist
Reports to: Chief Medical Officer/Medical Director
Location: Kigutu, Burundi
BACKGROUND
Village Health Works (VHW) is a joint American-Burundian NGO based in Kigutu, Bururi Province
whose mission is to provide quality, compassionate health care in a dignified environment while
treating the root causes of illness, poverty, violence, and neglect in collaboration with those we
serve. VHW approach integrates clinical services with education, food security, economic
development, environmental protection, music and the arts.
Currently VHW engages in a wide array of clinical and community programs in a catchment area
of over 200,000 people within the provinces of Rumonge and Bururi. Our clinic attends over
51,000 outpatient consultations per year. Our 60-bed low acuity inpatient wards provides basic
adult and pediatric non-operative inpatient services including treatment of malnutrition, mental
health, chronic and acute diseases and uncomplicated obstetrical deliveries. These services are
administered by our staff of generalist physicians under the supervision of our Medical Director.
Village Health Works has embarked on an ambitious plan to expand our clinical care to provide
comprehensive medical care including obstetrical and surgical services. To achieve this goal,
VHW has constructed and is equipping a new 150-bed state of the art hospital with 4 operating
rooms. Construction and installation of equipment will be completed in early 2023 with a
projected clinical opening in the second half of 2023. To provide excellent care we must
expand the scope and skills of our clinical staff through training, teaching, hiring and through
the development and implementation of systems that are framed by high quality norms and
standards. While this work is currently underway, there is much more required to open safely in
the second half of 2023.
Position Overview
The Staff Physician in Anesthesia has responsibilities that span clinical, educational and care
delivery domains. The ideal candidate is an outstanding clinician who is committed to delivering
evidence based, resource appropriate care to our patients while taking the opportunity to
share knowledge, skills and techniques with those around her/him to promote a clinical culture
of service excellence, teamwork and patient safety.
This position reports directly to the Senior Physician/Head of Anesthesia Department and the
Chief Medical Officer
Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical Care
● Apply medical knowledge and skills to the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the
outpatient and inpatient environments
● Ensures that clinical plans are effectively and clearly communicated to the care team and
patient.
● Ensures daily clinical documentation of care for all patients under department care and
review for quality.
● Ensures the documentation of patient consent when needed
Anesthesia Specific Patient Care
● Provide anesthesia for all surgical cases utilizing evidence based practice
● Ensure that all patients in need of anesthesia are evaluated and treated promptly.
● Facilitate engagement with surgeons and clinicians when appropriate and necessary.
● Oversight of pre and post-operative anesthesia care.
● Coordinate the coverage of all patients requiring anesthesia or being considered for anesthesia
● Ensure the documentation of patient consent for anesthesia and all related procedures.
● Provide critical care to patients in high dependency unit Clinical Quality and Patient Safety
● Monitor indicators of quality for anesthesia services on a regular basis.
● Support the integration of clinical evidence-based practices and “best practices”
● Attend and participate in regular morbidity and mortality review for medical services.
● Ensure quality of care by giving ongoing training to the multidisciplinary medical/paramedical team and providing technical advice
● Propose modifications to current anesthesia care management, implementing them once approved by the Head of Department
● Keep patients and families informed of the treatment to be followed, checking that they have understood
● Ensure that professional autonomy and confidentiality are respected, and demonstrate a good attitude and bedside manner towards patients and their caregivers
Administration
● In close collaboration with the Head of Department, supervises the day to day clinical/ward activities and workflow
● Manages and supervises generalist physicians
● Together with clinical leadership periodically reviews the Clinical Standard Operating Procedures, Manuals, Protocols, and Processes
● Supervises the safe and efficient delivery of anesthesia care for surgical cases
● Participates in recruitment and interviewing of medical staff, as necessary Professional Development/ Education and Training
● Engage in continual and ongoing maintenance of skills and certifications.
● Provide ongoing bedside educational experiences for the core clinical team.
● Provide appropriate skills training to staff for surgical and non-surgical procedures.
● Engage with medical education for rotating students and trainees.
● Seek professional education growth and maintains current licensure requirements for anesthesia practice.
Requirements
● License to practice medicine as a Physician in the country of origin/study
● Specialization training in Anesthesia with a minimum of 2 years professional experience or 5-7 years demonstrated experience as a General Practitioner with a focus on Anesthesia
● Recent clinical experience (at least six months within the last 24 months)
● Demonstrated experience in clinical training of staff
● Experience in resource poor settings
● Critical Care experience preferred
● Fluency in French and Kirundi is required; professional level of English is required for this
position
● IT skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
● Strong team player
● Adaptable and able to work in a multicultural team
● Self-driven with a solution-orientated approach
How to apply:
Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a CV and a thoughtful cover letter describing your experience and how it applies to this position along with 3 professional references to: jobs@villagehealthworks.org. Please include “Staff Physician - Anesthesia” in the subject line of your email. Submissions should be in English.