Job Title: Staff Surgeon
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’s 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 Surgery 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 while promoting a clinical
culture of service excellence, teamwork and patient safety.
This position reports directly to the Head of Surgery 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
Surgical Care- see Appendix for VHW Surgical Package
Clinical Quality and Patient Safety
● Support the integration of clinical evidence-based practices and “best practices”
● Attend and participate in regular morbidity and mortality review for medical and surgical
services.
● Ensure quality of care by giving ongoing training to the multidisciplinary
medical/paramedical team and providing technical advice
● Propose modifications to current surgical 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 Head of Department periodically reviews the Clinical Standard Operating
Procedures, Manuals, Protocols, and Processes
● Supervises the safe and efficient delivery of care in all patient areas
● Participates in recruitment and interviewing of medical staff, as necessary
Professional Development/ Education and Training
● 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.
Requirements
● License to practice medicine as a Physician in the country of origin/study
● Specialization training General Surgery with a minimum of 2 years professional
experience or 5-7 years demonstrated experience as a General Practitioner with a focus
on general surgery
● 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 Kirundi, French is required; professional proficiency in English is required
● 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 - Surgery” in the subject line of
your email. Submissions should be in English.
Appendix-
VHW Surgical Service Package - Candidate should be able to provide documentation of
experience and skills in providing the following
● Preparation for surgery and anesthesia, and choice of appropriate anesthetic
● Fluid management before, during and after surgery
● Aseptic techniques
● Suturing
● Closure of wounds
● Wound healing
● Correct handling of tissues
● Post-operative care, including analgesia, activity, diet, etc.
● Correct use and care of surgical instruments.
● Perform a range of surgery, which includes but is not limited to the following procedures:
Minor surgery
■ Biopsy of lumps and other lesions
■ Excision of lumps
■ Circumcision
■ Incision and drainage of abscesses and meibomian cysts
■ Debridement of wounds
■ Secondary closure of wounds
■ Aspiration/injection of knee, ankle, wrist and shoulder
■ Reduction of paraphimosis
■ Suprapubic catheter insertion
■ Cautery/cryotherapy of warts and skin lesions
Major surgery
■ General surgery
■ Debridement
■ Appendectomy
■ Laparotomy (selected cases)
■ Amputations
■ Skin grafts