Series Description

The Fall 2017 IAMSE Web Seminar Series takes on an increased international flavor as presenters review health professions education around the world each with unique challenges and solutions. The goal of this series is to foster the exchange of ideas in the community of health science educators. Continuing with our longitudinal focus on competency-based-education, the series begins with an overview of medical education in Canada with an emphasis on the initiatives of the International Competencies in Basic Medical Education (ICBME). From the Far East, we will hear a presentation on Chinese medical education (World-China initiative) which places an emphasis on primary care in China. A panel will provide an overview of the European model of health professions education from globalization of education to global healthcare. Another presentation will explore medical education challenges and solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The series will conclude with a session focusing on an integrated model of medical care: childhood disease prevention in South America. At the end of the series the audience will be able to identify global challenges and solutions to medical education that may provide valuable perspectives at the local level.

Part 1: Recruitment and Retention in Junior Doctors: Global Issues, Local Solutions?

Medical education and training systems in the most countries allow doctors in training considerable individual choice about which specialty they select and where they wish to train. This flexibility is desirable to the individual, but not necessarily for the country’s health service: many countries cannot recruit doctors into certain specialties and/or to particular geographical areas. Many studies have identified a number of factors which influence medical and other healthcare careers decision making. However, only relatively recently have methodologies been adopted which examine which are the most important “push-pull” factors in healthcare professional career decision making. In this talk I will give an overview of the global issues, then discuss my own work and that of others in relation to the labour-market choices of healthcare professionals. I will conclude by discussing ways in which we can best select and support the healthcare workforce in order to start to address workforce shortages.

Part 2: A European Case Study of Rural Health System Strengthening Through Rural Medical Academy Development

• Facilitated Exchange on the Role of Medical Educators in Global Health System Strengthening with reference to rural health systems.
• Presentation of a Case Study on Rural Medical Academy Development in the West of Ireland.
• Dialogue on the human resource challenges in the provision of rural health professional coverage worldwide.
• Discuss the transitioning requirements of the Medical Student moving to the rural health environment.
• Consider the reciprocal benefits to the rural host institution and opportunities for academic advancement.

Speakers

Jen Cleland 
John Simpson Chair of Medical Education Research, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Professor Jennifer Cleland is John Simpson Chair of Medical Education Research, and Director of the Centre for Healthcare Education Research and Innovation (CHERI), University of Aberdeen, Scotland; Chair of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME); Director of the Scottish Medical Education Research Consortium (SMERC); Lead for the Association for Medical Education Europe (AMEE) Research Committee; Chair of the Board of Management for Medical Education; Associate Editor for Perspectives in Medical Education; an Invited Member of the Wilson Centre, Toronto; Associated Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the USA.

She is a clinical and occupational psychologist by training and worked as a Clinical Psychologist in the UK health service for many years. With over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, she has published widely in a broad range of journals including the BMJ, Medical Education, Medical Teacher, and Quality and Safety in Healthcare. She is the lead editor on “Researching Medical Education” (Wiley, 2015). She is regularly invited to keynote at national and international meetings. Jen’s particular research interests are selection, assessment and performance, and medical careers decision making. Her research spans the continuum of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education and training.

Meabh Ni Bhuinneain
Dean, National Specialty Director, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Mayo University Hospital, Ireland

Highlights from the Webinar

Medical Education Challenges: Attracting the “Generation Y” Workforce

Influences on medical careers decision making process such as:

• Gender
• Individual preferences/fit
• Exposure/experience
• Wish for work/life balance
• Medical school

Their approach

• Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE)
• Health economics
• Personal preferences
• Quantifiable in monetary terms

Characteristics of Trainee (resident or student of DCE)

• Familiarity with hospital
• Geographical location
• Opportunities for partner/spouse
• Potential earnings
• Clinical/academic reputation
• Working conditions

Other items were more important than location, location, location. These are good working conditions and opportunities for partners/spouses.

In the end, working conditions were the key to trainee and final year medical student career decisions.

What is being done to improve working conditions?

The current medical students want:

• A good team
• To feel valued
• Have a sense of belonging
• Receive more positive feedback
• CPD opportunities
• Both full and part time work.

“A European Case Study of Rural Health System Strengthening Through Rural Medical Academy Development”

What are your learning objectives for rural health system strengthening?

Are you committed? Can you provide justification? Are you able to apply, reinforce and provide clarification for your ideas?

Underlying dimensions of social disadvantage

• Demographic decline
• Social class deprivation
• Labor market deprivation

Global Inequities

• Rural poverty indicators
• Rural health needs
• Reproductive health indicators

WHO Health Workforce Strengthening: “To expand, strengthen and orient health professional training institutions, in terms of quantity, quality, and skill mix to be relevant to the implementation of the transformative scaling up of health professionals.”

WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personal: “An adequate and accessible health workforce is fundamental to an integrated and effective health system and for the provision of health services.”

• Moving towards a Student-Centered Academy
• Learning environment
• Pastoral, social and self-care
• Faculty sensitization and development
• Organizational development
• Use of improvement methods
• Measurement
• Governance – towards full student representation
• Community engagement

Ending question: How does reciprocity/mutuality work in reality?