Medical Officer Job at COOPI

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italianhumanitarian non-governmental

organization founded in Milan in 1965. COOPI aims to help the world’s poorest to improve their access to healthcare, food, and financial security,and to overcome their special vulnerability to wars, civil conflicts and natural disasters. For 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergenciesin numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations andSustainable Energy.

With more than 3,900 humanitarian workers employed, and an average of 180 projects per year across 25 countries throughout Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, COOPI is the biggest Italian NGO. During its 50 years of activity, COOPI has successfully completed over 1,600 projects in 63 countries, involving 55.000 local operators and ensuring direct benefits to approximately 100 Million people.

MCooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italianhumanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Milan in 1965. COOPI aims to help the world’s poorest to improve their access to healthcare, food, and financial security,and to overcome their special vulnerability to wars, civil conflicts and natural disasters. For 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergenciesin numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations andSustainable Energy.

With more than 3,900 humanitarian workers employed, and an average of 180 projects per year across 25 countries throughout Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, COOPI is the biggest Italian NGO. During its 50 years of activity, COOPI has successfully completed over 1,600 projects in 63 countries, involving 55.000 local operators and ensuring direct benefits to approximately 100 Million people.

Position: Medical Officer

COOPI in Nigeria

COOPI started its operations in North-East Nigeria in July 2014 to carry out a rapid evaluation of the most relevant constraints suffered by the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) displaced by the food crisis and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.

The COOPI Nigeria Field Office is located in Potiskum, Yobe State, in order to cover five LGAs in Yobe State and to provide direct assistance to the IDPs and their hosting communities, through a multi-sectorial programme covering Food Security, Nutrition and Child Protection interventions. COOPI's capacity to respond to the humanitarian situation in the country is confirmed by its experience in providing humanitarian aid in more than 24 other Countries around the World, in over 50 years of operations.

Scope of the Vacancy
Provides outpatient and/or inpatient medical care’s to Stabilization centre beneficiaries according to The Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria medical/international protocols, values and universal hygiene standards.

Main Duties / Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Assistant Nutrition Project Manager and in collaboration with the Project Managers, Field Coordinators, and other collaborators of the projects and of the Base, She/he will:

Medical activities

Provides in-patient consultations:

• Carries out the daily departmental rounds
• Examines all the hospitalized patients while carrying out a Triage to ensure that critical and new patients are prioritized at all times.
• Ensures all Patients are regularly monitored depending on their condition.
• Prescribes the care and treatments required, following  the Federal  Ministry of  Health Nigeria  protocols and ensuring the rational use of medicines
• Informs patients about their illnesses, explains their treatments, answers questions.
• Keeps the hospitalization forms up to date (details of examinations, entry and exit diagnoses, treatments, Death Reports, etc ) and ensures the application of prescriptions
• Decides on the discharge/transfer to OTP of patients according to the state of their health and following the Federal  Ministry of Health Nigeria protocols
• Works in collaboration with the different doctors and supervises transfers towards other departments if necessary
• Checks that transfusion rules are followed in the department (grouping, tests, procedure, monitoring, etc.)
• Ensures ongoing training of the medical/nurses/nutrition assistants team in order to optimize the quality of care
• Manages emergencies and is on call if necessary
• May be assigned to be responsible for Staff health issues.
• Ensures Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria protocols always followed by medical staff members.
• May be involved in scheduling and rotations of medical staff members.
• Ensures universal precautions followed at all times, contributes to reducing bio-hazard risk, and infection control improvements. Participates in Infection Control meetings if needed.
• Flexibility of roster in night and day if needed 
• Ensures that professional confidentiality is respected
• Participates in Medical, Mortality, Staff meeting if needed.

Provides out-patient consultations if required:

• Checks that triage is carried out according to emergency criteria and the vulnerability of patients
• Refers emergencies cases based on Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria procedure of referral to the hospital and re-orientates non-emergency patients if necessary.
• Carries out consultations following Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria treatment protocols and noting observations on health care forms
• Provides patients with information on their illnesses, explaining the treatments involved and how to follow them, checking that patients have properly understood
• Ensures the follow up of previously hospitalized patients in the outpatients department (OTP)
• Monitors the rational distribution of medicines at pharmacy level
• Works in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team and participates in ongoing staff training (care techniques, updating protocols etc.)

Reporting

• Participates in the collection and analysis of epidemiological data (medical statistics), checking its validity if required
• Monitor and inform about type of pathologies, abnormal increases in number of consultations as well as any epidemic potentials.
• Inform line manager about any possible serious problem or complication, ex. worsening of state of patients, problems in medicines, Need of special treatment or Referral, etc.
• Ensure that information is transferred to next duty team regarding patients and their status.
• Inform line manager of any problems that might be linked to work of nurses, nutrition assistants as well as problematic equipment or material (ex. broken, missing).

Equipment

• Look after all equipment provided.
• Ensure that no material is taken out of doctors area without prior authorisation.
• Keep an updated inventory of all material and equipment used and ask in advance for all renewable material needed.

Emergencies

• Participates in emergency activity or exploratory visit in or out of the COOPI area of work upon request.
• Report on time any epidemic diseases to line supervisor.

Additional responsibilities
This job description is not intended to be all inclusive and the employee will also perform other related tasks as required and assigned by his/her supervisor.

Profile of the Candidate (Education, Training, Competences, Skills)

Minimum Requirements:

• Essential degree of medicine with valid professional license practice.
• Desirable specialisation or training in Pediatrics and/or Nutrition.
• Essential working experience of at least two years in relevant jobs related to Pediatrics and Nutrition.
• Share the humanitarian mission of the organization
• Good communication skills
• Ability to communicate with vulnerable populations
• Proven experience in related field
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Accuracy and promptness in performing duties
• English writing and speaking skill preferred

Desired Competencies / Skills:

Essential
Professional, motivated, open, creative, mature, responsible, flexible and culturally sensitive

Preferred

• Previous experience in similar roles in a humanitarian set up
• Good knowledge of the intervention area/s and local context
• Knowledge of the local language (Hausa/Kanuri)