Table 2.

Training methods used in the Gezira Family Medicine Project

Training activity	Way of conducting	Time of the training	Aim of the training
Introductory course	Meeting at the university	At the start of the master’s course	To cover important areas in family and community medicine, before start
Distance learning	Formal Internet-based lectures, tutorials or discussions, using Web Ex program (virtual classroom); lecturer communicates with candidates (voice and picture), share desktop, slides, films, and documents	Usually at the end of the day, evenings, or weekends	To teach the different disciplines in rotations (medicine paediatrics, and so forth)
Hospital visits	Clinical rounds, outpatient clinic, referral clinic, theatre, etc.	Once a week	To learn the required clinical skills, candidates should fill their logbooks where all the required skills are listed
Telemedicine	Specialists from all specialties are connected with the candidates by videoconference to discuss real-life cases	One hour during the working day	Both clinical management and case discussion learning
Field supervision	Supervisors visit the candidates at their health centres	During the working day	To assess the setting, attend and evaluate consultations, evaluate the use of the filing system
Primary care work	Candidates are practicing family medicine at their centres	4 days a week	Learning through practice, candidates communicate with specialists and colleagues through videoconferencing
Courses	Crash courses arranged at the university	Usually 3 to 5 days per course	To cover certain important topics (examples: mental health, malaria and HIV)
Monthly meetings	Meeting at the university	Once a month	Family medicine teaching and administrative issues
Electronic library	Every candidate is equipped with a laptop computer and free wireless Internet	At any time	Evidence-based medicine: candidates should know national and international resources, guidelines, medical websites, etc.
Classical library	Available at the university, some books were distributed free to the candidates	During the university days	Mainly for background knowledge