INTERNAL MEDICINE

Since its inception the department has pursued vigorous staff training and recruitments in relevant areas towards ensuring a competent academic and support manpower as well as acquisition of appropriate teaching and research facilities and equipment in line with its major objectives of ensuring the provision of excellent clinical care to patients, training of disciplined and professionally competent undergraduates and postgraduate students and involvement in relevant clinical research that would have direct bearing on improvement of care of patients in our environment.

Below is a resume of the current status of the department in terms of facilities, staffing, programmes, modest achievements and challenges.

FACILITIES

1. Medical Wards (male medical ward 36 beds, female 16 beds)
   
2. Haemodialysis Unit (8 beds & 6 Dialysis machines)
   
3. Diagnostic Centre for:
   
   a. Endoscopy
   
   b. ECG
   
   c. Echocardiography
   
   d. Spirometry
   
   e. EEG.
   
4. 2 Seminar Rooms (1 shared, 1 dedicated)
   
5. A/E Unit (20 beds shared with surgery)
   
6. Specialty Clinic spaces (shared with other departments)
   
7. Accommodation facilities:
   
   i. Consultant Offices
   
   ii. Residents� Common Room
   
   iii. Call Duty sleeping room
   
   iv. Administrative office
   
   v. Departmental library
   
   

CURRENT STAFFING

1. The department has honorary consultants staff across following subspecialties; Gastroenterology, Clinical Haematology, Neurology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Pulmonology, Endocrinology and Infectious disease.
   
2. In terms of Resident staff the department has over 40 at various stages of their training.
   
3. The department is supported by 4 supportive staff headed by a secretary
   

PATIENTS' CARE SERVICES OFFERED

• In-patient Care of Patients
  Twice weekly consultant ward rounds in the medical wards
  
• Week days resident ward rounds
  
• Daily A/E care and call duty services
  
• Daily Acetate and Bicarbonate haemodialysis services
  
• Daily ECG
  
• Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays Mantoux Test in the Side Lab
  
• Periodic Renal Transplant services
  
• Daily specialty clinics. i.e. Mondays (Cardiac/Nephrology)
  Tuesdays(Neurology/Dermatology)
  Wednesdays (Respiratory/Haemaology)
  Thursdays(GIT/Endocrine)
  Friday (HIV).

All clinics start at 9.00am on days indicated.

• Out-patients consultative Care
  
• Staggered specialty clinics (Mondays to Fridays � covering specialties of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Infectious Diseases, Chest Diseases, Dermatology, Neurology, Clinical Haematology, and Rheumatology ). We see an average of 700 patients weekly in these clinics
  
• Retainership Clinic Services across the specialties weekly.
  
• Outreach: We offer supportive consultant services to the following hospitals
  
  Murtala Mohd Specialist Hospital, Kano
  Federal Medical Centre, Katsina
  Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kudu
  Dutse General Hospital.
  
• Investigative Services
  
  Week days: ECG, Stress ECG and emergency ECG.
  
  Weekly � Endoscopy, Echocardiography, spirometry and EEG. Emergency
  
• Services have been introduced in Endoscopy
  
• Routine Haemodialysis is also offered

Academic/Training Services

Undergraduate Medical Training

3 batches of medical students are taught annually over a period of 48 weeks(Medicine I, II and III Postings).

The postgraduate training programmes include: -

• Case Presentation and Literature Review � weekly
  
• Mortality Review weekly
  
• Clinico pathology conference monthly
  
• Journal Review weekly
  
• Joint Hospital Presentation Biweekly
  
• Consultant Presentation monthly
  
• Clinical Postgraduate Drills weekly
  
• Essay/Short Answer Drills Monthly/quarterly

OTHER TRAININGS

1. The department undertakes periodic training for dialysis doctors, technicians and nurses from other centers in the country.
   
2. The department also has weekly sessions with General Practitioners in Kano willing to update their medical practice through attending our academic meetings.

BEYOND AKTH

• Members of the department have been involved in other National Academic activities including external examination for the MBBS program in ABU Zaria, and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria in Lagos, West African College of Physician etc
  
• Similarly Dr. Bappa Adamu, a Consultant Nephrologist was given 2 years approval for leave of absence to acquire experience in the Nephrology and Renal Transplant Unit of Saudi Arabia in Riyad.
  
• Collaboration between Nephrologist of the department, the vascular surgeries of our hospital and their colleagues in London has been responsible for so far 4 successful Kidney Transplant undertaken in the hospital over the year 2008.