Medical education departments : a study of four medical schools in Sub-Saharan Africa

dc.contributor.authorKiguli-Malwadde, Elsieen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorTalib, Zohray M.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWohltjen, Hannahen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorConnors, Susan C.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorGandari, Jonathanen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBanda, Sekelani S.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMaggio, Lauren A.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorVan Schalkwyk, Susan C.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-02T08:09:40Z
dc.date.available2016-11-02T08:09:40Z
dc.date.issued2015-07en_ZA
dc.descriptionCITATION: Kiguli-Malwadde, E. et al. 2015. Medical education departments : a study of four medical schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Medical Education, 15:109, doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0398-y.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at http://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com
dc.description.abstractBackground: Many African countries are investing in medical education to address significant health care workforce shortages and ultimately improve health care. Increasingly, training institutions are establishing medical education departments as part of this investment. This article describes the status of four such departments at sub-Saharan African medical schools supported by the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). This article will provide information about the role of these institutional structures in fostering the development of medical education within the African context and highlight factors that enable or constrain their establishment and sustainability. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with the heads or directors of the four medical education departments using a structured interview protocol developed by the study group. An inductive approach to analysis of the interview transcripts was adopted as the texts were subjected to thematic content analysis. Results: Medical education departments, also known as units or centers, were established for a range of reasons including: to support curriculum review, to provide faculty development in Health Professions Education, and to improve scholarship in learning and teaching. The reporting structures of these departments differ in terms of composition and staff numbers. Though the functions of departments do vary, all focus on improving the quality of health professions education. External and internal funding, where available, as well as educational innovations were key enablers for these departments. Challenges included establishing and maintaining the legitimacy of the department, staffing the departments with qualified individuals, and navigating dependence on external funding. All departments seek to expand the scope of their services by offering higher degrees in HPE, providing assistance to other universities in this domain, and developing and maintaining a medical education research agenda. Conclusions: The establishment of medical education departments in Sub-Saharan Africa is a strategy medical schools can employ to improve the quality of health professions education. The creation of communities of practice such as has been done by the MEPI project is a good way to expand the network of medical education departments in the region enabling the sharing of lessons learned across the continent.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-015-0398-y
dc.description.versionPublisher's version
dc.format.extent9 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKiguli-Malwadde, E. et al. 2015. Medical education departments : a study of four medical schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Medical Education, 15:109, doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0398-y.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1472-6920 (online)
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.1186/s12909-015-0398-y
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/99804
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain copyright
dc.subjectMedical education -- Departmentsen_ZA
dc.subjectMedical colleges -- Sub-Saharan Africaen_ZA
dc.titleMedical education departments : a study of four medical schools in Sub-Saharan Africaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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