UNAM school of medicine hosts first open day

The University Of Namibia School Of Medicine, hosted its first open day on 26 July. The event, which was organized by the Office of the Dean of Students’ Professional Services Unit in conjunction with the campus SRC for external affairs, Mr Gerrit Keyter, attracted close to 200 Grade 10 and 12 high school learners from Khomas and Otjozondjupa regions. These learners are all interested in a medicine related field of study.
Two of the event’s main objectives were to highlight and expose learners to diverse fields of study in the medical professions, and attract potential candidates for recruitment into such fields of studies. The open day also created an opportunity for them to interact face to face with academics and current students on relevant aspects of medical training. This was also done in light of the findings from the recent Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Public Health sector. Among the Commission’s key findings was the inadequate number of health professionals and specialists, especially doctors, and that the country relied largely on international medical professionals to fill this gap.
The School of Medicine Founding Dean, Professor Peter Nyarango, shared similar sentiments and highlighted the gap that exists in the medical industry, stating that currently Namibia has a 50% shortage of medical doctors. He further stressed that Namibia has only around 1100 medical doctors, of which close to 200 are working in public health facilities. He called on all the learners with an interest in medicine and pharmacy to study hard and help the country in addressing some of these pressing needs.
Learners and their teachers were taken on a campus tour and were shown the state of the art facilities at the Medical School. The event served as an eye-opener for the learners, and many said they are now motivated to work harder and pursue their career dreams.