The future of Medical Education in the region of the Americas
Quality medical training, community-centered, adapted to the local realities and needs, is a fundamental element of quality health services and a powerful strategy for access to health.
The pandemic has advanced the debates on medical education and enhanced the distance learning experiences for medical and health sciences students. However, how far can one advance in learning certain clinical and relational competencies through virtual simulation? Technology is an ally but what are the challenges that arise, so as not to deepen the distance between health professionals and the community that needs their care?
At the same time, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for actions within the community and for early and intra-household care. This situation reignites the issues of an unfinished agenda around the role of universities in the development of the professional identity of future doctors, their community orientation and their commitment to the social welfare of the population.
This meeting, organized by the Human Resources for Health Unit of the Health Systems and Services Department of the Pan American Health Organization through the Virtual Campus for Public Health, and held during World Health Day 2021 - Building a more just and healthier world, and dedicated to Health Workers and Caregivers, seeks to promote a regional debate and initiate a space for discussion and exchange of experiences on medical education.
The Webinar carried-out via Zoom and with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Recognize different visions of medical education in the Region of the Americas in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Share challenges, lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for the development of a new agenda in medical education that integrates community-based training with the incorporation of new technologies in health care and training.
Event Agenda
2:00-2:10 p.m. - Opening
Welcoming remarks.
Introduction: The context of World Health Day and the Year of Health and Care Workers
2:10-3:20 p.m. - Presentations and dialogue
Topics:
- Medical education in the current and post-pandemic contexts.
- Opportunities for new technologies and the challenges of an unfinished agenda.
- Better education for greater inclusion.
Presentations:
- Gilliat Falbo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBQRxe20sqE
- Mario Rovere: https://youtu.be/aFkix9jLWog
- Arthur Kaufman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GCxfK2xtA
3:20-3:30 p.m. - Close
Summary of the event and closing words
Link to the translations recordings:
- In English: https://youtu.be/LpLFm-E_HCw
- In Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2Zjoj7R18
- In Portuguse: https://youtu.be/dKYR5XP_V_U
- Dr. Gilliat Falbo
Pediatric surgeon. Former president of the Professor Fernando Figueira Institute of Integral Medicine (IMIP). Former Secretary of Health of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Academic Coordinator, Pernambuco Health School, Brazil. Head of the teacher training development committee.
- Dr. Arthur Kaufman
Internist and family physician. Worked in the Indian Health Service among the Sioux, Navajo, and Pueblo Indians before becoming Chair of Family and Community Medicine, former Vice Chancellor for Community Health, University of New Mexico, USA. His expertise is in professional health education for service to rural and underserved populations, a background he brings to the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Education of Health Professionals.
- Dr. Mario Rovere
Current director of the Floreal Ferrara Government School of Health, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Full Professor and Director of the master’s in public health at the University of Rosario, Argentina. Pediatrician and expert on international public health. Former PAHO/WHO human resources advisor on health; former Vice-Minister of Health of Argentina, and former dean of the medical education program at the National University of La Matanza, Argentina.
Foreword, Moderation and closing remarks:
- Gabriel Listovsky, Coordinator of the Virtual Campus for Public Health/PAHO
- Fernando Menezes, Unit Chief, Human Resources for Health, PAHO
- James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services, PAHO