Focusing on the experiences of African medical auxiliaries belonging to rural colonial Fort Victoria province’s sprawling Ndanga Native Medical Unit, this article considers the ambiguous position occupied by this front-line group who pioneered black medical care work in the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Although a great deal of work has been done on the histories of medical auxiliaries across colonial Africa, how they managed their incorporation into a marginal but evolving colonial healthcare system requires a fresher look. The recent emphasis on auxiliaries’ cultural power and clinical acumen – two extremely important traits – has tended to overshadow the daily realities of their positioning on the margins of colonial health-care systems. Adopting a holistic approach, I reconsider the opportunities and constraints of their occupation. I argue that although African medical auxiliaries in remote rural places such as Ndanga were influential as culture brokers and providers of frontline care – a source of pride and inspiration for many – their haphazard recruitment, ad hoc training and casual conditions of service negatively exposed them to the vicissitudes of their colonial and professional subjugation. Moreover, as African medical training became more professionalised from the 1950s onwards, the once prestigious position of medical assistants was overtaken by newer categories of professionally trained African health-care personnel.

本文着眼于属于农村殖民地维多利亚堡省庞大的恩丹加土著医疗队的非洲医疗辅助人员的经历，考虑了这个在前英国殖民地南罗得西亚（津巴布韦）开创黑人医疗工作的前线团体所占据的模棱两可的地位）。尽管在整个非洲殖民地的医疗辅助设备的历史上已经做了大量工作，但它们如何管理它们融入边缘但不断发展的殖民地医疗保健系统，需要重新审视。最近对辅助人员的文化力量和临床敏锐度这两个极其重要的特征的强调往往掩盖了他们在殖民卫生保健系统边缘定位的日常现实。采用整体方法，我重新考虑他们职业的机会和限制。我认为，虽然在恩丹加等偏远农村地区的非洲医疗辅助人员作为文化经纪人和前线护理提供者具有影响力——这是许多人的骄傲和灵感来源——但他们随意的招聘、临时培训和临时服务条件使他们对他们的殖民和职业征服的变迁。此外，随着非洲医疗培训从 1950 年代开始变得更加专业化，曾经享有盛誉的医疗助理职位被更新的经过专业培训的非洲医疗保健人员类别所取代。我认为，虽然在恩丹加等偏远农村地区的非洲医疗辅助人员作为文化经纪人和前线护理提供者具有影响力——这是许多人的骄傲和灵感来源——但他们随意的招聘、临时培训和临时服务条件使他们对他们的殖民和职业征服的变迁。此外，随着非洲医疗培训从 1950 年代开始变得更加专业化，曾经享有盛誉的医疗助理职位被更新的经过专业培训的非洲医疗保健人员类别所取代。我认为，虽然在恩丹加等偏远农村地区的非洲医疗辅助人员作为文化经纪人和前线护理提供者具有影响力——这是许多人的骄傲和灵感来源——但他们随意的招聘、临时培训和临时服务条件使他们对他们的殖民和职业征服的变迁。此外，随着非洲医疗培训从 1950 年代开始变得更加专业化，曾经享有盛誉的医疗助理职位被更新的经过专业培训的非洲医疗保健人员类别所取代。