HMIS Intern Orientation / Development Program

Health Systems Trust (HST) has, over the years, been involved in a number of skills enhancement initiatives (or internships) for the “recently trained” and for those who wish to gather experience in a field in which HST is active.

Prior to to 2000 HST funded interns to work with other research organizations in the country using funds raised for the purpose. This later changed to having interns assisting in HST's own projects and programmes – often as research assistants and funded out of the project funding.

Another type of internship (which started in 2001 and is continuing to date) is conducted in partnership with the Public Policy Partnership (PPP) of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. In this programme the PPP funds the interns and HST provides the working environment. Students in this programme are postgraduate students between their Honour's and Master's years at university.

Many promising researchers, public policy implementers and health systems workers have gained from HST's internship initiatives over the years in a variety of ways.

Starting in 2006 the HMIS group of projects (programme) has launched an internship programme aimed at promoting HMIS skills and experience in a scarce-skills environment. The intention is that, after a two year internship, the interns will be able to be HMIS facilitators or to enter the ‘market' as information officers/managers .

Approach of the HMIS Internship programme

The intention of the internship is not simply to use the interns as ‘assistants' but to participate in and contribute towards their learning. 

The interns, are required to travel extensively as they will rotate every six months between different provincial facilitators across the country. They will among other things, work with the facilitator, accompany them to provinces, assist with workshops and assist with report writing.

One six month period will be spent at the National Department of Health. In this way they will be exposed to the ‘bigger picture' regarding HMIS.

In creating the intern development programme, the HMIS projects' team was guided by:

• Who needs to know what
• The minimum knowledge and skills required by different staff categories
• The need to build onto existing knowledge & skills

New Interns first undergo an orientation exercise at HST's Durban Office and a further general orientation on the HMIS project. During the former, HST's conditions of service will be discussed and necessary equipment will be issued (when available).

Interns are expected to gain these skills and knowledge through: -

1. Reading
2. Personal development using:
   • Internal courses
   • pivot tables ( Pierre 's first course)
   • using information for management
   • DHIS software
   • External courses / conferences
   • Self-teaching
   • Pivot table courses (more in depth)
3. Practical involvement in actual day-to-day activities
4. Mentorship

Interns are provided with a CD containing information relevant to HMIS in general and the project in particular. Minimally the CD will contain the following, but will continually be expanded and improved: -

1. Project mandate
2. Project overviews
3. Project reports – Provincial reports and national summary
4. National Health Act (Act 61 of 2003)
5. National Strategic Plan
6. District Health Plans & feedback reports
7. Strategic Plan & QRS forms
8. Health information management
9. National Indicator Data Set
10. The Equity project's handbook: ‘Using information for action. A manual for health workers at facility level.'
11. The ARV Monitoring & Evaluation Manual
12. Interpersonal skills (facilitation, leadership, management, communication)

• Olive course
• CDRA readings

Monitoring, Mentoring and Reporting

Interns are assigned to individual mentors during each of their six month stints in the HMIS programme. Throughout the period the mentor will monitor to ensure that adequate progress is being made and that no problems are arising. It is important that each mentor guides and supports “his/her” intern during this period so as to best achieve the intention of the internship programme.

The first three months of the first six-month stint will also serve as the Intern's probation period. No change in Conditions of Service will result from successful completion of the probation period.

Mentors should be guided by the Interns' Job Description and this Development Programme. Mentorship will be included as a Key Performance area (KPA) for the mentor during this period.

Interns should complete weekly work plans by 09h00 every Monday morning. These should serve both as planning g and evaluation tools. Interns are encouraged to include in these week plans feedback and reflections on their own experiences in the Internship programme. This “journaling” can be used by the Intern for compiling their monthly report.

Apart from regular informal discussions and meetings between the Mentor and Intern, a formal review and evaluation process should take place monthly. Interns should prepare and submit to their mentors (by the 25th) a monthly progress and development report detailing: -

• summary of activities during reporting period;
• own perceptions of planned progress and actual progress, with comments on perceived difference;
• valuable learning during reporting period and suggestions for enhancement of learning. (together with comments on the appropriateness or otherwise of the intern development programme, including suggestions for improvements);
• plans for coming month – detailing both planned areas of personal development and planned work-related tasks to be conducted.

Using the content and plans in the monthly reports, an HST Performance Management Assessment form should be completed together after the first month, after three months and at the end of each six month period. At the same time a General Internship Evaluation form (a synopsis) should be completed and forwarded to the Project Manager.

Keywords	This Item is associated with the Following Keywords: Health Management Information Systems.
You Can Comment on this Item, or View other people's Comments
Easy Print Email to a friend