| The medical assistant, as he is known in the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Rhodesia, is possibly the most important single means of providing universal health care in the developing world. His main role is that of leader of the health centre team in rural health centres. He is proof that 85% of patients can be cared for by someone whose training is less than half as long and perhaps one-tenth as costly as that of the conventional physician. Leadership roles are so far limited to male workers. Tanzania's experience is used as an example in a discussion of career ladders. Some current needs in this field include further curriculum development, more communication media for medical assistants (such as Afya, a journal specifically for medical assistants), and further training in basic science. |