First Edition of the OpenMRS Academy Successfully Held in Mozambique under the coordination of Jembi/UEM-mOASIS
The OpenMRS community and Jembi / UEM-mOASIS launched the OpenMRS Academy for the first time through a level 1 course called “OpenMRS Fundamentals”.
Image 1: Trainees during the OpenMRS Academy at the Faculty of Medicine of the Eduardo Mondlane University – Maputo, Mozambique
Maputo, Mozambique -October 2020 –Following the proposal presented by Jembi during the 2019 International OpenMRS Implementers Conference in Mozambique and the subsequent expression of interest by the Rector of the Eduardo Mondlane University on the creation and establishment of an OpenMRS Academy at national, regional and international level, Mozambique was the stage of the first edition of the OpenMRS Academy that started with the level 1 course called “OpenMRS Fundamentals”
Jembi/UEM-Moasis with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created together with the OpenMRS Community, a working group dedicated to the creation of the curriculum, training materials and all other didactic, pedagogical and logistical elements of the first course of the OpenMRS Academy.
Image 2: Session on the OpenMRS Concept Dictionary co-facilitated by Andy Kanter from the United States of America and Clério Faife in person in Mozambique
Jembi/UEM-Moasis was responsible for coordinating this OpenMRS training held in Maputo between 29 September and 1 October of the current year at the Faculty of Medicine of the Eduardo Mondlane University, respecting the established standards for COVID-19 prevention in Mozambique. The training was given in 4 modules in person and online by specialists in OpenMRS from the community based in the cities of Chicago, Boston and Seattle (United States of America), Nairobi (Kenya), Kampala (Uganda) and Maputo (Mozambique) and had the participation of 13 trainees, including university students of Medical and computer science programs, officials and technicians of the National Health System and clinical partners of PEPFAR, who are part of the OpenMRS community.
Image 3: João Machiana and Kétmia Matavele – Co-facilitators of module 2
The 4 modules of level 1 consisted of theoretical presentations and practical exercises that
addressed the following themes: 1) Introduction to Information Technologies for Health and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Systems; 2) Best Practices for the Development of EMR Systems in collaboration with Ministries of Health in developing countries; 3) OpenMRS Overview; and 4) OpenMRS Technical Overview.
The goal of OpenMRS Academies is to support the long-term sustainability of OpenMRS-based systems in low-resource environments (Africa, Asia, South America), expanding knowledge and skills in the use of OpenMRS by different information systems professionals in health. In Mozambique, the OpenMRS Academy aims to provide current and future technicians from the National Health System and PEPFAR implementing partners with the necessary skills to develop, implement and manage health information systems based on OpenMRS.
As the coordinating organization of this initiative, Jembi is currently working together with OpenMRS and community members to expand the offer of courses and guarantee the certification and sustainability of the OpenMRS Academy in Mozambique, at the regional and international levels.