Diabetes and hypertension are growing epidemics in much of the African continent which is rapidly adopting western lifestyles. EXCEMED – Excellence in Medical Education has an ongoing, long-term educational project to provide additional focused training workshops for students in the final year of their medical education at local universities in host countries.

EXCEMED hopes that by prioritising diabetes and hypertension it will be possible to increase awareness in order to prevent these conditions. Hypertension and its sequelae will be explored in detail, including diagnosis, potential end-organ damage such as CHD, stroke and peripheral vascular disease, and the possible treatment modalities and their effects.

Diabetes will also be a major focus and teaching will include aetiology, complications (both macrovascular and microvascular) and treatment options. Acute metabolic presentations of diabetes and their inpatient treatment will also be covered. Students will then be able to learn more about the interaction between diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension and the importance of multiple interventions in their management.

The current state of detection and prevention of these conditions in the local economy will be examined and students will explore models of the future development of services, together with the potential impact on their own medical careers.

The CME tour will provide a mixture of taught and interactive sessions. The taught lectures will be presented by a speaker supported by slides, but will include ample opportunity for students to ask questions. The interactive sessions will centre on discussions of individual cases, and each will be presented by a student with a faculty member who will discuss the case interactively with the students by eliciting the ideas on differential diagnosis, investigations and management strategies. Sessions will be taught not only by visiting faculty but also by teaching staff from the host universities. Students will have the opportunity during the course to reflect on the factual knowledge that has been provided and will be able to deepen and extend their knowledge through direct contact with faculty.