FOREWORD

College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan felt the dire need to start a program which would help teachers of Health Professions Educations to learn emerging medical education vocabulary and to use appropriate teaching and assessment methodologies for student learning and assessment in undergraduate as well as postgraduate medical education. This led to the introduction of a Diploma program in health professions education in 2004. The popularity of the program paved the way for its upgradation to College membership (MCPS- HPE) in 2009. Selection in MCPS-HPE program is based on evidence of motivation towards medical education. Adroit faculty of the program ensures smooth transition from medical or dental practitioners/ consultants/ teachers into knowledgeable and practicing medical educationists.

MCPS-HPE is a 2-year degree program which organizes hands-on experiences in developing learning objectives and competencies, using teaching tools and integrated teaching methods, constructing & evaluating assessment instruments, and development & evaluation of curriculum. The program also supports social and moral development of its graduates. CPSP is playing its leadership role in bringing the much-needed improvement in health professions education in the country.

Directorate OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

The Directorate of Medical Education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, was established in 1979 in collaboration with the World Health Organization. In the same year, Government of Pakistan recognized it as “National Teachers Training Centre.” In 1996, the World Health Organization designated it as “WHO Collaborating Centre for Training in Research and Educational Development of Health Personnel” for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The Directorate of medical education as per its vision and mission statements given below takes great pride in disseminating innovating concepts in medical education across the country through its educational workshops and to have created a critical mass of medical educationists in the country through its Diploma and Membership courses in Health Professions Education.

Vision

Provide support to medical education in the country in general, and CPSP Postgraduate Programs in particular for attaining excellence.

Mission

The Mission of DME entails provision of quality learning experiences to all tiers of medical and dental professions to help them up-date, innovate and enhance their performances in clinical practice and academic roles for achieving the ultimate goal of optimum patient care.

MCPS-HPE Program

College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan is running a 2-year MCPS-HPE program which was initially launched as a 15-month diploma program in 2004, which gained strength and popularity over the years and was upgraded to college membership in 2009 with additional 9 months of educational research. The program has produced over a hundred medical educationists, who are playing a vital role in reforming medical education in the country; and has thereby created a new career pathway in academic medicine for the health professionals. The goal of the program is to prepare selected medical and dental graduates from different tiers and specialties for the leadership role in academic medicine. The MCPS-HPE course has a comprehensive content with flexible program, it equips its participants with necessary competencies for bringing about a socially acceptable and sustainable change in their parent institutions that could bring improvement in the quality of Health Professions Education. The program renders capacity building of its participants in all areas of medical education including: Educational Leadership, Adult Learning, Instructions, Assessment, Curriculum Development, Program Evaluation and Educational Research, and enables them to take appropriate decisions based on best available evidence.

Objectives

• Define and appraise the role of Health Professions Education in relation to external and internal forces that influence such programs
• Critically analyze literature as it relates to education for the health professions
• Plan, implement and evaluate relevant courses for health professionals based on contemporary principles of learning and instruction
• Plan, implement and evaluate processes of student assessment in order to make valid and reliable decisions, which can be generalized
• Demonstrate evidence of high quality teaching/facilitation skills
• Demonstrate effective leadership and teamwork capabilities
• Undertake research on indigenous or international issues related to health professions education to provide evidence-based solutions
• Provide scientific, relevant and practical advice and assistance to educational departments and organizations on academic matters
• Provide constructive feedback to organizations/institutions on the basis of educational evaluation

Program Structure and Instructional Strategy

The program is a blend of cognitive, constructivist and social learning theories with a touch of behaviorist learning perspective when it comes to keeping timelines for submission of assigned work! The main emphasis in this course is on experiential learning. Hence the HPE curriculum is delivered through problem based-learning, small group discussions and interactive lectures. Since the program is meant to prepare educational leaders, application of acquired knowledge remains its prime objective. Therefore learners are given numerous opportunities to have hands-on experience of solving academic problems, developing instructional and assessment plans, designing curricula and evaluation plans along with research proposal development on a topic from Medical Education culminating into original publishable article in a CPSP approved journal.

The 15-month course work, which is specially tailored to the needs of health professionals, can be pursued along with work commitments except for brief and manageable periods of contact sessions. The program is a blend of face-to-face and supervised distance learning. The face-to-face sessions (contact sessions) are held three times, spread over a period of 15 months, for 12-15 days each, at the start, middle and towards the end of the course. The fourth face-to-face meeting takes place at the end of the coursework and is utilized for the final assessment of candidates. In the distance learning period, module guides help in completing the assignments and projects. During this phase, interaction between learners and faculty is web-based.

Eligibility Criteria

• Medical or dental graduates with one year house job
• Valid registration with PMDC
• Minimum two years of teaching experience after graduation or having worked in a Department of Medical Education for at least one year

Shortlisting Criteria

Shortlisting of the candidates for interview will be made on the basis of scores obtained on the following criteria:

• Educational qualification
• Academic position and its duration
• Duration of teaching experience
• Duration of experience of working in Department of Medical Education
• Number of articles published on issues of medical education
• Papers presented in national and international conferences related to medical education
• Number of educational courses attended
• Number of workshops attended
• Proficiency in English language
• Proficiency in using computer and internet
• Commitment to pursue Medical Education as a career

COURSE CONTENT

• Module-1 Overview and Educational Leadership
• Module-2 Adult Learning
• Module-3 Instructions
• Module-4 Assessment
• Module-5 Curriculum
• Module-6 Program Evaluation

Educational leadership is addressed in the first module as a major course theme. Educational Research on the other hand is incorporated in modules 2 and 3, leading to development of a research proposal, which provides a template to carry out for research work. After completing the course work, candidates are required to appear in the end-of-the course summative examination. During next nine months candidates are required to conduct research in their parent institution on the research proposal already developed.

The total time duration for completion of all the requirements is within six years of the commencement of first contact session.

Venue of Contact Sessions

All contact sessions can be held in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad center as decided by the CPSP.

Fee Detail

Fee
Application processing Fee	Rs. 5000/- (non-refundable, to be submitted with the application form)
CPSP RTMC Registration Fee	Rs. 10,000/-
Security Deposit	Rs. 20,000/- (refundable only upon completion of the program; non-refundable in case of dropout)
Tuition Fee	Rs.600,000/- (can be paid in three equal installments of Rs. 210,000/-)
MCPS-HPE Certificate Fee	Rs.10,500/- (paid after completion of course to get membership certificate)
Transcript Fee	Rs. 2,500/-
Books / Reading Material	The candidates will have to bears additional charges for the books/ reading material.
Travel and accommodation expenses:	CPSP at Karachi and Lahore centers can provide accommodation during contact sessions, if available. Cost of stay and travel for the contact sessions will be borne by the applicant and are in addition to the above mentioned expenses.

Qarz-e-Hasna Scheme

Students admitted in the program and who have paid at least first installment of tuition fee can apply for financial assistance in the form of Qarz-e-Hasna scheme. The brochure and forms will be available in the Directorate of Medical Education and can be downloaded from the College website.