A tale of two doctors

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-134
Author(s):  
Julian H. Fisher

The recent shift of funding emphasis on the part of the World Health Organization, turning from research orientation to provision of practical delivery systems, highlights the divergence of goals which must be established for the medical "haves" and "have-nots"—the developed and the developing world countries. The same orientation applies as well to schema for medical education in these two worlds, and the implications were impressed upon me last year in what I would somewhat facetiously label a tale of two doctors, reviewing experiences I had with two American-trained native physicians in a Latin country. Having reflected at length on a year away from familiar North American medicine, weighing the new experiences in the light of the old, I find that these two professional pathways illustrate the developed world's gifts of foreign medical aid (educational assistance) and the developing world's utilization of those grants.

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Weisz ◽  
Beata Nannestad

Abstract Background This article presents a history of efforts by the World Health Organization and its most important ally, the World Federation for Medical Education, to strengthen and standardize international medical education. This aspect of WHO activity has been largely ignored in recent historical and sociological work on that organization and on global health generally. Methods Historical textual analysis is applied to the digitalized archives and publications of the World Health Organization and the World Federation for Medical Education, as well as to publications in the periodic literature commenting on the standardization of international medical training and the problems associated with it. Results Efforts to reform medical training occurred during three distinct chronological periods: the 1950s and 1960s characterized by efforts to disseminate western scientific norms; the 1970s and 1980s dominated by efforts to align medical training with the WHO’s Primary Healthcare Policy; and from the late 1980s to the present, the campaign to impose global standards and institutional accreditation on medical schools worldwide. A growing number of publications in the periodic literature comment on the standardization of international medical training and the problems associated with it, notably the difficulty of reconciling global standards with local needs and of demonstrating the effects of curricular change.


1980 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 132-134
Author(s):  
Milos Bjelic ◽  
Jerzy Krol

During the Plenary Session on Prosthetics and Orthotics in the Developing Countries the representatives of the United Nations and the World Health Organization expressed the personal views which follow. They are presented here to the membership at large in view of the widespread interest and the Society's involvement in the problems of improving service in the developing world.


2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 267-267
Author(s):  
Peter Lamont ◽  
Anna Yerokhina

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) have a strategic partnership for the promotion of accreditation in medical education around the world. They have developed accreditation guidelines, which recommend establishing accreditation that is effective, independent, transparent and based on criteria specific to medical education. So far, only a minority of countries have quality assurance systems based on external evaluation and the majority use only general criteria when approving or evaluating an educational activity.


1964 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-870

Sixteenth Assembly: The sixteenth session of the Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) met in Geneva on May 7–23, 1963, under the presidency of Dr. M. A. Majekodunmi (Nigeria). During the discussion of the Director-General's report on the work of WHO in 1962, delegates expressed agreement on the importance of the planned development of health services, medical education, and the training of auxiliary staff. Endorsing the Organization's medical research program, some members suggested its extension to other fields. Other members felt, however, that WHO was devoting too much time and money to work that could be carried out by national research institutes. Several delegations appealed for a more flexible approach in providing aid to less developed countries. Dr. Candau, the Director-General, spoke of the efforts that had been made to secure staff from a wider range of countries.


Author(s):  
Samreen Misbah ◽  
Usman Mahboob

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of integrating the World Health Organization (WHO) patient safety curriculum into undergraduate medical education in Pakistan. Methods: A qualitative interpretive case study was conducted at Riphah International University, Islamabad, from October 2016 to June 2017. The study included 9 faculty members and 1 expert on patient safety. The interviews were audiotaped, and a thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed using NVivo software. Results: Four themes were derived based on the need analysis model. The sub-themes derived from the collected data were arranged under the themes of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in accordance with the principles of SWOT analysis. The strengths identified were the need for a formal patient safety curriculum and its early integration into the undergraduate program. The weaknesses were faculty awareness and participation in development programs. The opportunities were an ongoing effort to develop an appropriate curriculum, to improve the current culture of healthcare, and to use the WHO curricular resource guide. The threats were attitudes towards patient safety in Pakistani culture, resistance to implementation from different levels, and the role of regulatory authorities. Conclusion: The theme of patient safety needs to be incorporated early into the formal medical education curriculum, with the main goals of striving to do no harm and seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn. Faculty development activities need to be organized, and faculty members should to be encouraged to participate in them. The lack of a patient safety culture was identified as the primary reason for resistance to this initiative at many levels. The WHO curriculum, amended according to local institutional culture, can be implemented appropriately with support from the corresponding regulatory bodies.


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