UGHE, through the Educational Development and Quality Centre, in partnership with Harvard Medical School launched the second edition of the Health Professions Education Course to enhance the teaching skills of faculty and clinicians.

Over 30 faculty and clinicians involved in teaching and mentoring students for the UGHE’s Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and Masters in Global Health Delivery program attended this faculty development program, including clinicians from Butaro District Hospital and Kirehe District Hospital.

The three weeks of virtual training which majored in principles of Health Professions Education, Curriculum Design and Implementation targeted global health, medical, nursing, and allied health educators to improve their ability to design, reform, and improve health education curricula in an effort to advance quality health care delivery consistent with UGHE’s mission and vision.

The Health Professions Education course covered a wide range of topics, including adult learning theory, competency-based frameworks, curriculum design and implementation, faculty development, assessment, student support, and remediation. The sessions were engaging, as participants were given the opportunity to discuss various pertinent topics in small groups. Led by Professor Joseph Rhatigan, the instructors were from Harvard Medical School, a key partner of UGHE.

Participants expressed their satisfaction with the course, remarking that it helped them improve their teaching skills, particularly physicians who were now carrying the role of teachers without any formal training.

“I thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on education and teaching styles and gaining insight into ways to improve individual education skills. I also enjoyed learning about CBE (Competency-Based Education), its guiding principles, and its application in the real world. It helped me understand much of what is happening at UGHE and how to focus on enhancing the education of health professionals,” said one of the attendees in the post course survey.

All faculty who successfully completed the course received Continuous Professional Development credits from the Rwanda Medical and Dental Council.

As UGHE expands its influence on quality and equitable health care, it is crucial to equip faculty and clinicians at teaching sites with professional skills in teaching, curriculum design, student mentoring, and assessment to prepare students as future health champions for building resilient and equitable health systems.

UGHE’s Educational Development and Quality Centre in collaboration with its partners will continue to work to build the capacity of faculty and clinicians to become effective and competent teachers.