[Washington, DC - July 1, 2010] - HVO is pleased to announce the establishment of an internal medicine program in Bhutan at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and the Royal Institute of Health Sciences (RIHS).  The 350 bed National Referral Hospital is the primary referral hospital for the country and health care is provided free of charge.  The NRH is staffed by nine General Medical Duty Officers and the Internal Medicine Department is staffed by four internists who will work closely with HVO volunteers.  The Royal Institute of Health Sciences provides training for health assistants and nurses.  Both sites are located in Thimphu and are within walking distance of each other.    

Volunteers with the program will provide training to the General Medical Duty Officers and sub-specialty training to the internists in the Internal Medicine Department.  Working at the RIHS, volunteers will educate health assistants and nursing students through lectures, seminars and physical exams.  Most training will take place in the hospital and on the wards during the students' clinical rotations.        

Volunteers must be board certified in internal medicine.   The initial volunteers for this site must have prior international experience, preferably with HVO.  Internists with specialty training are encouraged to apply but sub-specialists must be comfortable handling general medicine patients.  HVO volunteers are responsible for providing lectures, clinical supervision and training.  HVO is seeking volunteers for one month assignments. 

A private, non-profit organization, HVO was founded in 1986 to improve global health through education. HVO designs and implements clinical and didactic education programs in child health, primary care, trauma and rehabilitation, essential surgical care, oral health, blood disorders and cancer, infectious disease, nursing education, and wound management. In more than 25 resource-poor countries, HVO volunteers train, mentor, and provide critical professional support to health care providers who care for the neediest populations in the most difficult of circumstances. For more information about volunteering, visit the HVO web site.

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