The majority of people in the Moshi region are Christians, evenly split between Catholic and Lutheran.
The weather in Moshi is warm but rarely uncomfortable (23 – 30ºC).  Most of the year it is dry and dusty, but with short rains in November/December and long rains in March to May the dust can quickly turn to mud.  Evenings can be chilly in July and August.

About KCMC
For more detailed information look at KCMC’s website:  www.kcmc.ac.tz

The Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF) in Tanzania was founded by a consortium of Christian churches and donors in order to build KCMC which was opened in March 1971.  The hospital was immediately taken over by the Government, but handed back to the GSF for management in August 1992.

KCMC is the referral hospital for about 11,000,000 people in Northern Tanzania, and is a national teaching hospital for medical undergraduate and postgraduate students, nurses, and other allied health professionals in training. It serves about 500 outpatients daily and has 450 inpatient beds.
KCMC has the only schools of anaesthesia, occupational therapy, tactile orthopaedic technology, medical records and radiology in the country.  It has been designated the training centre for gastrointestinal endoscopy for the country.

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College became operational in October 1997.  The Government has now agreed an annual intake of about 100 medical students per year, and is responsible for basic college fees.  However, many students are unable to fund their accommodation and living expenses.  There is still also a lack of sufficient lecture rooms, IT equipment, medical library, teaching materials and other essential resources.  Teaching staff are few and overstretched.

Collaboration and Research
KCMC has always been fortunate to be very active in projects of collaboration and research with many overseas institutions.  These projects enhance the academic environment and benefit the clinical departments.
Research projects require careful planning with the appropriate staff at KCMC, and must obtain ethical clearance. Whilst all collaborations/research that benefit the hospital, college or the wider community are welcomed in theory, it must be emphasised that projects can drain the staff and resources of KCMC.  Enquiries regarding research projects should be addressed, in the first instance, to The Medical Director of KCMC.  Please allow up to a year to obtain clearance for research projects.

The following is a sample of institutions that have links with KCMC:
Muhimbili University, Dar es Salaam;  Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Harvard University, USA;  Stanford University, USA
Duke University, USA;  Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, UK
Royal Free Hospital, London, UK;  Copenhagen University, Denmark
Nijmegen University, Netherlands;  Berlin University, Germany
Nottingham University, UK;  University of Strathclyde, UK
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK;  Bergen University, Norway
Gotenburg University, Sweden;  London School of Tropical Medicine, UK

Elective Periods for Overseas Students

Medical students in their fourth year of study or above, as well as interns and residents are welcome to apply to KCMC for a clinical elective period, for a minimum stay of four weeks (not to include time out for holiday).  However, KCMC receives many more applications than there are places available, and you are advised to apply a year in advance.
The following departments accept elective students:  Internal medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, ENT, Radiology, Paediatrics, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, and Anaesthesia.  Community Health, Nursing, and Physiotherapy may also accept a few elective students
For more information about elective periods see KCMC’s website: www.kcmc.ac.tz/med%20elective%20students.htm.  
Applicants should write via e-mail to the Director of Hospital Services at international[AT]kcmc.ac.tz