Comparison of honey-ghee dressing with collagen dressing in the management of superficial burn wounds in children

Background: Options available for local management of burns include occlusive dressing and delayed skin grafting, open method and immediate excision followed by immediate skin grafting.Methods: A randomised controlled clinical trial was conducted in Mulago Hospital, Kampala to compare Honey-Ghee dressing and Collagen dressing in the management of superficial burn wounds. : A total of 52 children with superficial burn injury were studied to assess the efficacy and the safety of Collagen as a dressing in comparison with Honey-Ghee dressing.Results: The mean duration of wound healing of the 26 patients dressed with Collagen was 9.9 days while that for the 26 patients dressed with Honey-Ghee was 12.3 days. Collagen dressed wounds healed significantly faster than Honey-Ghee dressed wounds. Four (15.38%) patients of the 26 patients dressed with collagen developed wound infection while 5 (19.23%) of the 26 patients dressed with Honey Ghee dressing developed wound infection. There was no significant difference between the percentages. The organisms causing wound infections were Staphylococcus aurous (33.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33.3%), Citrobacter freundii (22.2%) and Escherichia coli (11.1%)

Is a PhD a necessary requirement for lecturers in a`Medical School? Report of a survey

Background: Makerere University introduced a new policy1 on the minimum qualification for appointment to a lecturer teaching position and eligibility for subsequent promotions. The highlight of the policy is a requirement for a PhD or equivalent as the minimum qualification necessary for appointment to a lecturer position and above.As a result of this policy fewer and fewer members have shown interest or indeed joined the Faculty of Medicine teaching staff roll.Objectives: This study set out to investigate the perception of the faculty and the impact of the policy on staffing.Methods: Literature review, oral and a questionnaire interviews were used to gather data. Participants included current members of teaching staff (of biomedical sciences and clinical disciplines) postgraduate students and visiting overseas academic staff and adjunct staff employed by the Ministry of Health at teaching hospitals.Data collected was analyzed and summarized in tabular form.Results: A PhD or equivalent is required as a minimum qualification to join academic positions at lecturer level and above at Faculty of Medicine and subsequent promotion to higher positions. There was a significant lag in promotions and recruitment in the Faculty of Medicine compared to counterparts employed by the Uganda Ministry of Health at the teaching hospitals. Participants expressed strong views that a PhD or equivalent should not be a minimum requirement nor should it be a prerequisite for promotions though it should be encouraged. Policy documents from other universities did not require a PhD or equivalent qualifications as a minimum requirement for appointment to the academic ranks of those institutions.Conclusion: Whereas it is desirable for the academic staff to acquire a PhD, it should not be a mandatory requirement. The policy was not in the best interest of the Faculty of Medicine and may not be for other medical schools to impose that requirement for appointment or promotion.University policy makers should consider schools of medicine as an exception to the policy requiring a PhD or equivalent as minimum requirement for teaching at a Medical School