Postgraduate – Welcome to AHSU, Shaping the Future of Health Through Excellence in Education – Rwanda

Anesthesiology and Critical Care

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Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care · AHSU, Rwanda

Welcome

The Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Africa Health Sciences University (AHSU) is training the next generation of specialists who are improving surgical safety, critical care, and patient outcomes in Rwanda and across Africa.

If you are seeking a residency program with strong clinical exposure, dedicated mentorship, research opportunities, and leadership development, AHSU offers an excellent place to begin and grow your career. As one of AHSU’s flagship postgraduate departments, we prepare confident, compassionate, and competent anesthesiologists and critical care physicians to deliver safe, evidence-based care in diverse clinical settings.

Our Vision

To be a regional center of excellence in anesthesiology, perioperative medicine, pain medicine, and critical care through education, research, innovation, and clinical service.

Our Mission

To train competent, ethical, and innovative anesthesiologists and critical care physicians who improve patient safety and advance healthcare through education, research, collaboration, and quality improvement.

Training and Clinical Practice

Scope of Practice

The department provides education and clinical exposure across the full spectrum of anesthesiology and critical care, including:

General anesthesia
Regional anesthesia
Obstetric anesthesia
Pediatric anesthesia
Cardiothoracic anesthesia
Neuroanesthesia
Trauma and emergency care
Perioperative care
Critical care and airway management
Acute and chronic pain management
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)
Simulation-based learning
Patient safety and quality improvement
Research methodology and evidence-based practice
Global health and medical education

This broad scope prepares residents to manage a wide range of clinical challenges in both high-resource and resource-limited environments.

Residency Program

We offer a competency-based postgraduate residency program designed to develop consultant anesthesiologists who can lead clinical services, education, research, and healthcare improvement. The program builds clinical excellence, leadership, professionalism, and measurable impact through:

Structured teaching and bedside supervision
Operating theatre and ICU rotations
Emergency, trauma, obstetric, and pediatric anesthesia
Journal clubs and morbidity and mortality conferences
Simulation training
Research mentorship
Global health
Leadership development

Our curriculum emphasizes continuous assessment, individualized mentorship, and progressive responsibility, enabling residents to grow into independent, trusted specialists.

Clinical Exposure

Residents gain hands-on experience across the perioperative continuum, including:

Elective and emergency surgery
High-risk and obstetric cases
Pediatric care
Critical care
Ventilation and hemodynamic monitoring
Difficult airway management
Ultrasound-guided procedures
Simulation-based scenarios
Postoperative recovery and pain services

Training takes place under experienced faculty across multiple teaching hospitals, giving residents the judgment, adaptability, and confidence needed to manage complex patients safely and effectively. Graduates are prepared to practice successfully in both resource-limited and advanced settings.

Research and Innovation

Research is central to our department. Faculty and residents address priorities such as:

Patient safety and perioperative outcomes
Critical care and obstetric anesthesia
Pain management and medical education
Workforce development and health systems strengthening
Quality improvement
Global anesthesia partnerships

Residents receive support in proposal development, ethics review, scientific writing, presentations, and publication.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Improving outcomes is a core priority. The department promotes:

Safe anesthesia practices and WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use
Crisis resource management and clinical audits
Morbidity and mortality review
Evidence-based protocols and infection prevention
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) principles
Ongoing professional development

Residents are encouraged to participate in initiatives that improve safety, reduce complications, and strengthen health systems.

Simulation-Based Learning

Simulation is an essential part of resident training. Through realistic scenarios, trainees build competence in:

This approach strengthens confidence before clinical application and helps residents develop the non-technical skills needed in high-pressure environments.

Partnerships and Collaboration

We value national and international partnerships that support education, research, and care. Key collaborators include:

These relationships support faculty development, exchange programs, simulation training, and collaborative research.

Achievements

A modern competency-based residency program
Expanded simulation-based education
Growing faculty and resident research output
Participation in national and international conferences
Leadership in patient safety and quality improvement
Strengthening Rwanda’s anesthesia workforce
Developing future clinical leaders, educators, and researchers

Success Stories

Our graduates are making a strong impact in Rwanda and beyond by:

Leading anesthesia and critical care services
Training future healthcare professionals
Improving perioperative safety and quality
Contributing to policy and research
Serving communities with professionalism and compassion

Current Initiatives

Current strategic priorities include:

Expanding simulation-based education
Strengthening critical care and acute pain services
Integrating point-of-care ultrasound into training
Promoting evidence-based perioperative care
Advancing patient safety and outcomes research
Enhancing faculty development and mentorship
Expanding digital learning and international collaboration
Deepening community engagement through education and advocacy

These initiatives reflect our commitment to innovation and continuous improvement while creating new opportunities for residents to learn in a forward-looking department.

Why Choose AHSU for Anesthesiology?

Residents at AHSU benefit from:

Expert faculty mentorship
Broad clinical exposure
A modern competency-based curriculum
A strong emphasis on patient safety
Simulation-enhanced learning
Research and publication opportunities
Leadership development
Collaborative, multidisciplinary training
National and international partnership opportunities

What makes AHSU especially attractive is the combination of high-quality training, close mentorship, and meaningful responsibility. Residents are active learners who grow through hands-on experience, guided supervision, and a culture that values excellence.

Our graduates are equipped with the expertise, professionalism, and leadership needed to strengthen healthcare systems across Africa. If you are seeking a residency that will challenge you, support you, and prepare you for a rewarding career with lasting impact, AHSU is the right place to train.

Join Us

Shape the future of safe surgery and critical care in Africa

Whether you are a prospective resident, medical student, researcher, healthcare partner, or supporter, we invite you to join us in advancing excellence in anesthesiology and critical care.

If you are ready to build a career that combines clinical mastery, leadership, and service, apply to AHSU and become part of a department committed to shaping safer perioperative care across the continent.

Emergency Medicine and Critical Care

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General Surgery

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AHSU General Surgery Residency

Train Where Every Rotation Builds a Surgeon

Join one of Rwanda’s growing General Surgery residency programmes.

The AHSU General Surgery Residency offers motivated medical doctors a rigorous, hands-on and competency-based pathway to becoming confident, professional and highly skilled surgeons.

From surgical operations and critical care to surgical simulation, research and laparoscopic skills, residents receive broad exposure designed to prepare them for the realities of modern surgical practice.

A Message from the Chair

Dr. Desire Rubanguka

Chair, Department of General Surgery
Africa Health Sciences University
Kigali, Rwanda

Dear Future General Surgery Residents,

Welcome to the AHSU General Surgery Residency Programme.

Choosing General Surgery means choosing a career of discipline, continuous learning, teamwork, courage and service. At AHSU, we understand that becoming a surgeon requires much more than learning how to perform an operation.

It requires sound clinical judgement, technical competence, compassion, integrity, leadership and the ability to make safe decisions when patients are at their most vulnerable.

Our programme was established in 2024 with 12 pioneering residents. By 2025, the programme had grown to 22 residents, and it continues to expand with a new group of residents joining every year.

This growth represents more than an increase in numbers. It reflects a growing community of doctors who are committed to improving surgical care in Rwanda, Africa and beyond.

Our residents participate actively in patient assessment, ward rounds, operating theatre, emergency consultations, outpatient clinics, critical care, academic discussions, research and quality-improvement activities.

They also gain experience from different surgical and related specialties, including:

Anaesthesia and critical care
Orthopaedic surgery
Urology
Neurosurgery
Oncology
Radiology
Surgical endoscopy
Plastic and reconstructive surgery
Cardiothoracic and vascular surgery

Residents are gradually entrusted with greater clinical and operative responsibilities as they grow and demonstrate competence under direct mentor-ship.

The programme also offers opportunities for laparoscopic skills development in simulation laboratory and exposure through laparoscopy courses at IRCAD Africa and operation theatre. This strengthens residents’ understanding of minimally invasive surgery, modern surgical technology and safe operative techniques.

At AHSU, you will not simply observe surgery, you will progressively learn how to assess patients, make decisions, assist in operations, perform procedures under supervision and independently, manage complications, conduct research and contribute to a surgical team.

We invite doctors who are ready to work hard, learn continuously and grow into surgeons who lead with competence and integrity.

We look forward to welcoming you to the AHSU General Surgery community.

With warm regards,

Dr. Desire Rubanguka
Chair, Department of General Surgery
Africa Health Sciences University
Kigali, Rwanda

Why AHSU General Surgery?

Why Choose Our Residency?

General Surgery is demanding, but it is also one of the most rewarding medical specialties.

At AHSU, residents join a growing programme that combines broad clinical exposure, academic teaching, operative experience, research and multidisciplinary learning.

Hands-On Surgical Experience

Residents participate in the management of patients from initial assessment through operative treatment, postoperative care, discharge and follow-up.

Clinical responsibility increases progressively according to the resident’s year of training, demonstrated competence and patient-safety considerations.

Broad Surgical Exposure

Residents encounter emergency and elective surgical conditions across different hospital environments under various supervision and mentor-ship skills.

Weekly Academic Activities

Residents participate in structured weekly learning activities that connect clinical experience with surgical science and evidence-based practice.

These sessions encourage active participation, critical thinking and discussion rather than passive learning.

Strong Simulation Culture

Simulation allows residents to practise technical and non-technical skills in a safe environment before applying them in patient care.

Training Sites

Three Main Hospitals and two rotating Hospitals. One Surgical Programme.

AHSU General Surgery residents gain experience across teaching hospitals that provide different patient populations, surgical conditions, levels of care and diverse mentor-ship.

Together, these sites expose residents to tertiary level surgery, regional surgical practice, high-volume caseload and resource-appropriate patient management.

Resident Training

A Structured and Competency-Based Curriculum

The AHSU General Surgery Residency is designed to develop residents across the full range of professional surgical competencies.

Training combines workplace learning, structured teaching, simulation, self-directed study, research, formal assessment, weekly didactics, case discussion, journal club and research.

Who Should Apply?

Is General Surgery Right for You?

The programme is designed for medical doctors who:

Are passionate about surgical care
Enjoy solving complex clinical problems
Are prepared for a demanding training environment
Value teamwork and professional discipline
Accept constructive feedback
Are committed to patient safety
Want broad clinical and operative exposure
Are interested in research and quality improvement
Aspire to become surgical leaders
Are ready to serve patients with compassion and integrity

Research and Innovation

Residents Contributing to Better Surgical Care

The department encourages research that addresses practical surgical challenges in Rwanda, the region and beyond.

Potential areas include:

Surgical outcomes
Trauma care
Emergency General Surgery
Surgical infections
Patient safety
Access to surgical services
Minimally invasive surgery
Oncology
Perioperative care
Quality improvement
Rural surgery
Surgical education

Residents are supported to present their work at academic meetings and prepare findings for publication.

Research is treated as a tool for improving patient care not simply as a graduation requirement.

Internal Medicine

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Obstetrics and Gynecology

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Program Duration

4 years

Training Locations

King Faisal Hospital Rwanda (KFHR), Kibuye Level 2 Teaching Hospital, and Kibungo Level 2 Teaching Hospital, and more to come.

Program Highlights

Competency-based curriculum with a hands-on, clinical focus
Hands-on experience with advanced simulation labs
Emphasis on clinical research, evidence-based practice, and clinical pedagogy
International external rotation opportunities (3–6 months), focusing on medical technology and standard-of-care exposure
Competitive scholarship and research grant opportunities

Overview

The Master of Medicine (MMed) in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Africa Health Sciences University (AHSU), delivered in partnership with King Faisal Hospital Rwanda, trains resident physicians to become skilled, independent specialists in women’s health. Residents progress through a structured, competency-based curriculum combining clinical rotations, simulation-based skills training, academic mentorship, and research development across three affiliated teaching hospitals building the breadth of experience needed to practice confidently across both tertiary referral and district-level settings.

Key Activities

Multi-Site Clinical Training

Residents rotate through King Faisal Hospital, Kibungo Level 2 Teaching Hospital, and Kibuye Level 2 Teaching Hospital, and other local and international teaching hospitals gaining exposure to a wide range of obstetric and gynecologic case complexity.

Structured Academic Progression

Regular departmental teaching sessions, case reviews, and skills assessments guide residents from Year 1 through graduation.

Continuous Quality Monitoring

The department tracks resident learning experiences through structured satisfaction surveys and attendance systems, using the data to continuously improve teaching quality across all sites.

Achievements

Yearly recruiting and training residents with a goal of building a strong pipeline of future OB/GYN specialists for Rwanda and the region.
Sustained institutional readiness for HEC and EAC accreditation standards, reflecting the departments commitment to training quality that meets regional and international benchmarks.
A functioning multi-site training model giving residents clinical breadth rarely available in single-site programs.

Ongoing Initiatives

Digital Tools for Residency Administration

Custom-built systems for attendance management and learner satisfaction tracking, strengthening transparency and the overall resident experience.

Strengthening Multi-Site Collaboration

Ongoing work to harmonize training quality and resource-sharing across our training sites.

Planned Complex Family Planning (CFP) Fellowship

The department is planning to introduce a subspecialty fellowship in Complex Family Planning, expanding its capacity to train advanced specialists in reproductive health.

Pediatrics and Child Health

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Welcome to Rwanda

Teach, mentor, and help build one of Africa’s newest and fastest-growing Paediatrics & Child Health residencies. For visiting faculty, residents, students, and partners joining AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health in Rwanda. Everything you need; mission, training sites, curriculum, and contacts in one place.

17 ↑

Residents across two cohorts — Cohort 3 incoming (Staring in September, 2026)

3

Teaching Hospital Sites

2024

Program Launch Year

7

Paediatric Subspecialty Clinics at King Faisal

165

Paediatric Beds Across the Program

A Message from the Chair

Dr. Stephen Sabiiti

Chair, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health
Africa Health Sciences University
Kigali, Rwanda

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome.

Welcome to AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health. We are building something meaningful here in Rwanda, a rigorous, contextually grounded residency dedicated to training the next generation of paediatricians and child-health leaders for Africa and the world.

We are glad you are here.

About our program

AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health launched in 2024, alongside the founding of Africa Health Sciences University itself, with 10 residents in our pioneering Cohort 1; a class that set the standard for everything that has followed. By 2025 we had grown to 17 residents across two cohorts, and in 2026 we expect to welcome our largest intake yet, taking the program past 30 residents in training.

We began as a general paediatrics program, and we are growing quickly toward subspecialty care a trajectory you can see clearly in the clinics our residents already train within.

Our residents train simultaneously across three sites:

Our learners care for children across the full spectrum from the new-born to the adolescent, across communicable and non-communicable disease, from the everyday to the highly complex. At every site they work inside collaborative, interprofessional teams and share in the honest, structured reflection of regular morbidity and mortality review. This environment does not just build clinical competence it shapes exceptional physicians.

“We are not only training paediatricians — we are helping to build the foundation of child health for an entire region.”

Your role in this mission

Whether you are joining us to teach, to collaborate on research, to complete a rotation, or to explore partnership, you are part of something larger than any single role. We welcome colleagues across every mode of engagement:

Every lecture delivered, every case discussed, every manuscript co-authored moves us forward. AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health is African-led, globally connected, and built to last.

Thank you for being part of this mission. We look forward to working alongside you.

With warm regards,

Dr. Stephen Sabiiti

Chair,
Department of Paediatrics & Child Health
Africa Health Sciences University
Kigali, Rwanda

Our Mission: Why This Program Exists

Sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for more than 80% of the world’s under-five deaths. Rwanda has set out to change that, and this program is part of how.

AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health was built to align directly with Rwanda’s Health Sector Strategic Plan V (2024–2029), Vision 2050, and the global mandates of UN SDG 3 and UHC 2030. Our purpose is direct: to transform medical graduates into autonomous paediatric specialists who can drive down neonatal and child mortality — toward the SDG 3.2 targets of 12 or fewer neonatal deaths and 25 or fewer under-five deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.

We pursue that mission by:

Building specialist capacity where it is scarce. Rwanda's national "4×4" workforce reform has expanded annual paediatric residency intake from 9 to 78, and AHSU is helping produce the next generation of autonomous paediatricians to meet that demand.
Bridging the rural–urban divide. Paediatric specialists remain concentrated in Kigali; our graduates are prepared to serve provincial and referral hospitals across the country.
Keeping complex care local. By strengthening paediatric critical care, neonatology, and the management of non-communicable disease on-site, the program reduces the systemic delays and costly transfers that cost children time they do not have.
Anchoring a regional hub. With high clinical caseloads and a growing subspecialty base, AHSU aims to make Rwanda a premier centre for paediatric care, research, and education across the East African Community.

Why Visit AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health?

This isn’t a typical global health rotation. AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health offers a rare opportunity to engage with a program that is actively shaping child-health training — not just practicing within it.

Multi-Site Clinical Training

Three hospitals, three distinct clinical identities urban tertiary and complex care, high-volume rural paediatrics, and regional system building. Together they hold 165 paediatric beds and 26 ICU/HDU beds across the program.

New-born-to-Adolescent Continuum

Residents follow children across the whole of childhood. At King Faisal, this extends to complex surgical paediatrics and a growing base of subspecialty clinics our best-of-practice reference site.

Strong Simulation & Bootcamp Culture

A dedicated simulation room at every site, anchored by intensive quarterly bootcamps and workshops including neonatal resuscitation (NRP) and other hands-on training that can run up to two weeks.

An Emerging Research Program

A founding-era program on the move: manuscripts under peer review and funded departmental projects underway, with active, hands-on faculty mentorship. This is a chance to help build a research culture from the ground up.

A Growing Residency

From 10 residents in Cohort 1 (2024) to 17 across two cohorts by 2025 and expanding further with each intake. This program is growing fast, and your contribution matters.

Rwanda: Safe, Accessible, Beautiful

Rwanda is one of Africa’s most accessible and welcoming countries easy international flights, safe and clean cities, and extraordinary nature from Lake Kivu to the Volcanoes, Nyungwe, and Akagera National Parks.

Three Sites. One Program.

Each teaching hospital offers a distinct clinical environment. Together, they create a training experience unlike anywhere else in the region. At every site, residents work inside collaborative interprofessional teams, manage a mix of straightforward and complex presentations, and take part in structured morbidity & mortality (M&M) review.

King Faisal Hospital, Rwanda

Quarterly Referral, National & International Level, University Central Hub

Location: Kigali, Rwanda (Capital City)
Level of Care: Quarterly referral, national level
Paediatric Beds: 36 , ICU/HDU: 10 , Simulation Room: 1 , Classrooms: 2
What You'll See: The full continuum of child health; from the new-born through adolescence including congenital conditions, complex surgical paediatrics, subspecialty clinics, and high-acuity critical care.

Rwanda’s flagship academic hospital and the central hub of the university; our best-of-practice reference site for congenital and complex care, where residents encounter the most intricate paediatric presentations in the country.

Kibuye Level 2 Teaching Hospital, Western Province

Location: Kibuye, Western Province — on the shores of Lake Kivu, a 2-hour drive to Nyungwe and Gishwati-Mukura National Parks
Level of Care: Level 2 teaching hospital
Pediatric Beds: 55 , ICU/HDU: 10 , Simulation Room: 1 , Classrooms: 2
What You'll See: High-volume rural and community child health, resource-adapted paediatric medicine, and a broad case mix from the common to the critically ill.

Situated on the shores of Lake Kivu, one of the program’s largest bedside teaching environments, pairing volume with a strong critical-care footprint.

Kibungo Level 2 Teaching Hospital, Eastern Province

Location: Ngoma District, Eastern Province, a 1-hour drive to Rusumo Waterfalls and Akagera National Park
Level of Care: Level 2 teaching hospital
Pediatric Beds: 74 , ICU/HDU: 6 , Simulation Room: 1 , Classrooms: 2
What You'll See: The program's highest-volume paediatric ward; undifferentiated critical illness, regionally prevalent pathology, and a clinically diverse patient population.

One of Rwanda’s fastest-growing training sites offering residents exceptional breadth and volume in general paediatric care.

Subspecialty Depth at King Faisal

A general paediatrics program growing quickly toward subspecialty care. At King Faisal Hospital, our residents already train alongside established paediatric subspecialty clinics, a level of exposure rarely available in a program this young. These include:

with paediatric gastroenterology preparing to launch and further subspecialties on the horizon. For residents, this means real exposure to subspecialty-level care. For visiting faculty, it means colleagues and clinics ready to collaborate.

Training & Research

AHSU Paediatrics & Child Health offers a rigorous curriculum delivered across three sites, with a strong emphasis on bedside teaching, simulation, and structured reflection.

A typical resident week

Faculty Clinical Seminar: a structured teaching session led by faculty, delivered online across all sites
Resident Case Presentation: a real case presented by a resident under faculty supervision, online
Journal Club: a focused review of globally relevant paediatric literature, read in local context
Afternoon Clinical Work: hands-on clinical training every afternoon, Monday through Friday

Teaching themes carry across the week, so a single clinical topic is often explored in depth through the seminar, the case presentation, and journal club together.

Quarterly Bootcamps & Workshops

Several times a year, residents come together for intensive, hands-on bootcamps and workshops; including neonatal resuscitation (NRP) and other practical skills training that can run up to two weeks. These are among the highlights of the residency calendar, and a natural place for visiting faculty to teach, share skills, and learn alongside our team.

Research

Ours is a founding-era research program, and it is moving. The department currently has manuscripts under peer review and two funded departmental projects underway; one at Kibungo and one at King Faisal, with several more in the pipeline. Residents are mentored directly by faculty, making this an ideal environment for collaborators who want to help shape a research culture from its earliest chapters.

Where You Come In

We are an African-led program, globally connected and we are actively looking for colleagues to teach, mentor, and build alongside us. Whatever your background; general pediatrics or any subspecialty, clinical or research, early-career or established there is a place for you here and a way for your expertise to matter.

Whether you can join us for a bootcamp, a rotation, a research collaboration, or a longer partnership, your contribution has a direct and lasting impact on child health in Rwanda and across the region. If you care about children’s health and want to help build something lasting, we would love to hear from you.

Join Us Contact the Team

We would be glad to hear from you.

Chair, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health: Dr. Stephen Sabiiti
Department Coordinator in charge of Academics: Dr. Nepomuscene Nkurunziza
Department Coordinator in charge of Research: Dr. Ukwishaka Joyeuse
Department Coordinator & Administrative Assistant: Mr. Cyemezo Barthelemy Excel
Site Manager, Kibungo: Dr. Kebede Mola Meiso
Site Manager, Kibuye: Dr. Simret Niguse Weldebirhan