As part of the Advancing Health Professionals (AHP) program, a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV) is needed to serve as a Preclinical Medical School Educator for Physiology and work with students in classroom and skills lab settings without the provision of direct medical care to patients or clinical supervision of students at the A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine (AMD), College Of Health Sciences, University Of Liberia. AMD is Liberia’s only medical school. It is part of the University of Liberia (UL) and located in the capital city, Monrovia. Founded in 1968, AMD was once considered a model for medical training in West Africa. Since the end of the Liberian Civil War in 2003, the Liberian government has remained committed to improving AMD; yet the infrastructural, financial, and socio-political setbacks from 14 years of civil war continue to pose persistent challenges to its long-term development. The recent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak further strained AMD, forcing the school to close during the 2014-15 academic year and claiming the lives of 8% of professional health workers in Liberia, including some of AMD’s own faculty members and students. AMD suffers from a shortage of faculty, with just three permanent full-time faculty who simultaneously serve as the school’s administrators (Dean, Assistant Dean/Clinical Coordinator and Pre-Clinical Coordinator). A PCRV is requested to transitionally help support the growth and development of AMD by teaching key courses for medical and pharmacy students and mentoring junior faculty and teaching apprentices in teaching methods, delivery and academic planning.

The PCRV will be a key member of the college of medicine and will assist with the various educational and training activities in conjunction with the preclinical coordinator. In addition to teaching courses, the PCRV will enhance the structure and design of pre-clinical training, develop additional learning resources for students, review and recommend revision to curricula and modules, work in partnership with peers and trainees to identify and develop opportunities for collaborative research, support the development and implementation of administrative tools and structures required for medical education operations, including the creation of trainee, faculty, and program evaluations tools. The PCRV will also conduct seminars to upgrade the knowledge and skills of other colleagues in the department. The skills of a PCRV are sought to deliver content, be available full-time on campus for student advising and mentoring, and introduce teaching innovations to AMD.

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 Liberia together as a group, so while the departure dates for the whole group could change, dates cannot be changed for individual candidates.

A.M. Dogliotti College Of Medicine, College Of Health Sciences, University Of Liberia

• High tolerance for ambiguity and high level of flexibility – some details of this project could change because of the uncertainties as Peace Corps and local partners resume volunteer operations
• A minimum of 3 years of experience teaching at an accredited college of medicine, medical school, school of pharmacy or equivalent
• A PhD or equivalent from an accredited institution OR MD with Master’s or equivalent; OR Master’s degree or equivalent with at least 5 years teaching experience.
• A proven track record as a leader and teacher
• Teaching experience in cross-cultural and/or low-income settings
• English proficiency