Enhancing CPD Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, participation in appropriately developed Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities is crucial for educators and practitioners to maintain relevance and efficacy in their teaching and clinical practice.
AMEE’s Pioneering Initiative
A pioneering initiative from AMEE, led by Project Director Lawrence Sherman, President of Meducate Global LLC, is now helping increase capacity of CPD educators in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa, using our recently developed and innovative Essential Skills in Medical Education (ESME) CPD course.
Building Local Expertise
Working with local experts, 60 educators will have the opportunity to complete the course and will be supported to form three educational Communities of Practice (CoPs) focussed on implementing best practice and overcoming systemic barriers to change.
Creating a Self-Sustaining Training Programme
A group of course participants will also be trained as course facilitators, creating a self-sustaining training programme of CPD educators.
Global Support and Funding
The project has been funded by Pfizer as part of an ongoing initiative to build CPD capacity worldwide, and recognises AMEE’s commitment to connecting, growing and inspiring globally and to transforming health professions education worldwide.
Previous Successes Inform New Efforts
It builds on previous Pfizer-funded work, in which AMEE independently assessed the CPD systems and environment in China, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/North Africa.
Comprehensive CPD Course Development
This then helped to inform our work with expert CPD educators from around the world to develop the six-module course, which will be used in this project, designed to prepare CPD educators for their role and promote best practices in CPD education.
ESME CPD Course Modules
These modules, covering principles of CPD, educational needs assessment, design and delivery of CPD, measuring the impact of CPD, adopting a strategic approach to CPD, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in Health Professions Education, are now part of the AMEE ESME collection, available to all health education professionals, and offer an ESME certificate upon successful completion and assessment.
AMEE’s Commitment to Sustainable Impact
Anne Lloyd, CEO of AMEE commented, “We are delighted to be working on this initiative with health education professionals in Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, and Rwanda. We are committed to creating sustainable impact, and this project achieves just that, supporting professionals in Africa to access and develop the course in the local context. AMEE’s ultimate aim is to support health education professionals to connect, grow and inspire globally and we are incredibly grateful to all our partners in this project who have enabled us to make this important step in our mission to advance global healthcare education.”
Pfizer’s Role and Vision
Maureen Doyle-Scharff, Group Lead, Global Medical Partnerships & Grants at Pfizer stated, “Pfizer’s Global Medical Partnerships & Grants program is committed to empowering AMEE and its vital initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. Our foundational goal is to enhance the capabilities of organizations and institutions, enabling them to provide education to healthcare professionals that is both needs-driven and evidence-based. This is crucial for bridging knowledge and practice disparities globally, particularly in regions serving the most at-risk and underserved communities.”
Addressing Global CPD Needs
Project Director Lawrence Sherman added, “Our ongoing research has clearly identified a need for the proper training of CPD educators globally. This initiative will be the first step toward addressing that need, and we know that it will make a significant impact in the countries taking part, and beyond.”