Health professionals education and training

1. Briefing to MoHME
Teheran, 15 September 2014
James Campbell,
Director Health Workforce, WHO
Executive Director, Global Health Workforce Alliance
Health professionals’ education
and training

2. Transforming and scaling up the education and
training of health professionals: what is it?
 The expansion and reform of
health professionals’ education
and training to increase the
quantity, quality and relevance of
health professionals to:
– meet population health needs and
expectations
– strengthen countries’ health systems
and improve population health
outcomes
WHO. 2013.
Available at:
http://whoeducationguidelines.org

3. Core elements:
 Greater alignment is needed between educational
institutions and the systems that are responsible for health
service delivery.
 Country ownership of priorities and programming related to
the education of health professionals with political
commitment and partnerships to facilitate reform at
national, regional and local levels.
 Promotion of social accountability in professional education
and of close collaboration with communities.

4. Core elements (cont):
 Clinicians and public health workers who are competent
and provide the highest quality of care for individuals and
communities.
 Global excellence coupled with local relevance in research
and education.
 Vibrant and sustainable education institutions with dynamic
curricula and supportive learning environments, including
good physical infrastructure.
 Faculty of outstanding quality who are motivated and can
be retained

5. Policy briefs for five domains
1. Education and training
institutions
2. Accreditation, regulation
3. Financing and
sustainability
4. Monitoring & evaluating
5. Governance and
planningAvailable at: http://whoeducationguidelines.org

6. WHA Resolution 66.23 (May 2013)
 To develop a standard protocol and tool for assessment
 Support Member States in country assessments
 Support MS to develop evidence-based strategies
 Regional consultation
 Synthesis and continuous improvement
Transforming health workforce education in support of universal health coverage

7. …in support of UHC…(AAAQ)

8. Health labour markets - AAAQ - UHC.
Sousa et al, Bulletin WHO. November 2013 (adapted from Vujicic & Zurn, 2006)

9. The health workforce implications?
Population
Services (AAAQ)
Financial
protection
A
B
Where are you now?
Where do you want to be?

10. The context in Iran?
Population
Services (AAAQ)
Financial
protection
A
B
Where are you now?
Where do you want to be?

11. Learning from others…
Population
Services (AAAQ)
Financial
protection
A
B
Where are you now?
Where do you want to be?
Competencies?
Needs
based
planning?
Private sector engagement?

12. Current activities..
1. WHO working with professional medical associations to improve
accreditation and regulation
2. WHO a founding member of WFME and in partnership with WFME
has developed guidelines for accreditation of medical schools globally
and continues to support its improvement and strengthening.
3. WHO works with WMA who is a member of the Executive Council of
WFME.

13. Current activities..(cont)
1. WHO working with professional medical associations to improve
accreditation and regulation
2. WHO a founding member of WFME. In partnership with WFME has
developed guidelines for accreditation of medical schools globally
and continues to support its improvement and strengthening.
3. WHO works with WMA who is a member of the Executive Council of
WFME.

14. Current activities..(cont)
 WFME has a strategic partnership with WHO for the promotion of medical
accreditation in medical education and was represented at its most recent
global meeting on accreditation and quality assurance. WMA is also a member
of the Executive Council of WFME and thus a partner in this process.
 WFME and WMA are members of the WHO Technical Working Group put
together to develop a global Health Workforce Education/Evaluation tool and
protocol for implementation in response to the World Health Assembly
resolution WHA 66.23, ‘Transforming health workforce education in support of
universal health coverage’.
 WHO is collaborating with WMA and partners to obtain data on the following
areas inter alia from national associations of WMA in Africa to promote quality
medical education: strengthening the curriculum; improving access to CPD;
and engaging in activities designed to address the social determinants of
health.

15. Current activities..(cont)
WHO working to strengthen competencies in medical education as well as
ensure evaluation of medical education institutions
 WHO EMRO is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of 100 medical
schools to improve quality of medical education: Eastern Mediterranean
Medical Education Study (EMMES): the quality of graduates; health status
improvement; and policy influence.
 WHO EURO addressing challenges among which: mismatch between
education and health system needs; hospital dominance over primary care;
need for new delivery models; and weak teamwork including inter-professional
collaboration. WHO undertakes regular health policy dialogue with
stakeholders beyond the Ministries of health to build consensus on various
issues (using the health system observatory). The HWF challenges arising
from regular analysis of the database are considered at these dialogues and
appropriate planning taken to mitigate these challenges.

16. Current activities..(cont)
 WHO AFRO is working with Deans of medical schools in sub-Saharan Africa
to address challenges in the region. This is in order to: stimulate authorities,
organisations and medical education institutions to plan for reforms and quality
improvement; establish national / international evaluation and recognition of
medical educational institutions and programmes and iii) safeguard practice in
medicine under conditions of increasing globalization.
 WHO SEARO is implementing the teaching of public health at undergraduate
level in medical schools. In addition to agreement on the production of
teaching manuals, there is also work on the development of a regional
strategic framework for strengthening teaching of public health in
undergraduate medical schools

17. Current activities..(cont)
Collaboration with partners on Social Accountability
 Advancing the global discussion for social accountability in medical and more
broadly in health professional education.
Activities
 Collection and dissemination of case studies and construction of a research
agenda.
 Collaboration with working groups and platforms to identify best avenues,
methods and stakeholders to promote and implement social accountability in
medical and health professional institutions.

18. Current activities..(cont)
Engaging medical students
 Building partnership with the International Federation of Medical Students
Association(IFMSA) through participation in IFMSA global conferences.
Activities
 An integration of the recommendations of transformative education into the
agenda of IFMSA via: global student survey on transition from secondary to
tertiary education and the importance of non-technical/transversal skills.
 Student survey on eLearning for medical students and junior doctors to
establish an international knowledge exchange network to design and share
practical experiences on the application and impact of eHealth initiatives.
 Use of social media to highlight important areas in medical education and
build a global knowledge about, and interest in, transformative education.