As part of the Advancing Health Professionals (AHP) program, a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV) with degrees in medicinal chemistry or a doctor of pharmacy is needed to serve as a Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Malawi College of Medicine (CoM) in Malawi, without the provision of direct medical care to patients or clinical supervision of students. CoM expects to play a central role in filling the large health worker shortages in Malawi’s health sector which has very high vacancy rate of doctors/specialists, pharmacists and various specialties, currently at 37%. However, the College also needs to increase the number of specialized lecturers who can support training of various cadres of health workers. Malawi continues to face significant human resource challenges in producing Pharmacists. The Pharmacy Department aims to train pharmacists to have the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values in order to help health institutions with supply chain management. Within the pharmacy department, the medicinal chemistry module currently has a shortage of human resources to instruct the Bachelor of Pharmacy students at CoM. In addition to instructing in this module, the PCRV will help further training of interested faculty members within the medicinal chemistry realm to provide a sustainable approach to educating future pharmacists in Malawi.

The Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry will work in collaboration with the head of the Pharmacy Department and fellow lecturers to support students as well as to mentor and build capacity of fellow faculty to review and develop a draft curriculum for the Masters of Pharmacy program. The PCRV will assist with the development of short-term Continuous Professional Development – (CPD) courses in medicinal chemistry for department staff and other interested individuals in related professions. Additionally, the PCRV will mentor 4 students in developing lab research projects as part of the undergraduate research course – which will involve supporting the students through the process of developing a research proposal, data collection, data analysis and reporting findings as part of their education. The goal of this assignment is for the PCRVs to help the college establish sustainable Medicinal Chemistry courses through curriculum development and staff training.

Peace Corps Response established its “Advancing Health Professionals” program in 2019. Response Volunteers serving with the AHP program seek to improve health outcomes on a societal level through the provision of high-level, specialized service in the health sector. AHP projects include programming such as nursing education, health systems strengthening, service delivery improvement, and other non-clinical interventions which enhance the quality of healthcare.

Please note that departure dates and other details of this project could change because of the uncertainties as Peace Corps and local partners resume volunteer operations. Candidates selected for this position will be arriving in Malawi together as a group, so while the departure dates for the whole group could change, dates cannot be changed for individual candidates.

College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy

• A master of medicinal chemistry degree OR a doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD)
• Lab research in medicinal chemistry
• Active pharmacist license if holding a PharmD
• Fluent in English language and good communication skills
• Experience working in a limited resource setting