Ethiopian medical journal
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2008
Comparative Study Clinical TrialClinical estimation of fetal weight in low resource settings: comparison of Johnson's formula and the palpation method.
Estimation of fetal weight is important for antenatal and intrapartum clinical decision-making. Sonographic estimates may not always be available in low resource settings. In such instances it is essential to study the reliability of clinical estimation of fetal weight in assisting decision-making. ⋯ Estimation of fetal weight by the Palpation method appears to be more accurate than the Johnson's method. In the lower and average birth weight range the palpation method is the more accurate of the two, while in the higher weight category the Johnson's method appears to be more accurate.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2008
Medical doctors profile in Ethiopia: production, attrition and retention. In memory of 100-years Ethiopian modern medicine & the new Ethiopian millennium.
Although the practice of western medicine in Ethiopia dates back to the time of King Libne Dengel (1520-1535), organized and sustainable modern medical practice started after the battle of Adwa (1896). ⋯ It is high time that the government discusses the possible solutions among health professional associations/societies and other health stakeholders, and apply concrete medical doctors retention mechanisms before the public medical schools and hospitals dry off doctors. Among actions to be undertaken from the current Ethiopian perspective: providing land plot for physicians for residential house construction, giving priority to physicians in providing low cost houses, low interest or interest free loan for residential house construction and automobile procurement, allowing duty free automobile procurement, improving the fully employed academic staff taxation system, approving the different remuneration options proposed, adopting the other countries experience of dual employment to academic staff working in teaching hospitals, modifying the academic rank promotion based on year of training, for university hospitals either establishing hospital organizational structure in the Ministry of Education or letting them be under MOH, establishing joint appointment (mutual beneficiary) agreement between medical schools and local hospitals, directing donors and stakeholders to work on the line of reducing internal and external medical doctors brain drain, making independent MOH and higher institutions from Civil Service Agency are proposed as short term solutions. Retention as a strategy & production as a programme, medical doctors production scale up options are proposed as a long term solution to achieve physician to population ratio of 1:15,000. and 1:8,000 by the year 2015 and 2020, respectively.