The Ministry of Education and Sports has launched a revised training curriculum in clinical medicine and community health courses.
The clinical medicine curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Allied Health Professionals Council and other stakeholders was launched at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe on September 6 by the State Minister for Transport, Mr Fred Byamukama on behalf of the Minister for Education and Sports, Ms Janet Kataha Museveni.
Mr Byamukama said the curriculum is intended to “produce quality and skilled health professionals in a dynamic health ecosystem.”
“The revised training curriculum for clinical medicine and community health targets inclusion of modern methods of tutoring to fit the technological demands in the prevailing health and education environment. The curriculum has been in place, but because the world is advancing technologically and economically, a lot of new things are coming up which call for revision of the curriculum every now and again to avoid teaching outdated things in schools,” he said.
The Minister added whereas those who studied the old curriculum still qualify, with time they will also require additional/updated skills through undertaking continuous professional development courses.
“Getting better nurses and quality health professionals is a joint effort,’’ said Minister Byamukama.
Dr Safinah Kisu Museene, the Commissioner for Health Education and Training Institutions, said; “In the education sector, we have a standard that calls for revising the curriculum every five years based on the rationale that knowledge, skills and technology keep on changing every now and then. For example in 2020, we experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought on board new learning methods like use of technology and digital applications in the education of health professionals. Our previous curriculum did not provide for that as most trainees were attending classes physically and would have to physically go to the hospital without any technology on board. Covid -19 enabled us to appreciate that zoom and other teaching applications could also be effectively utilised.”
Dr Museene noted that the skills being imparted under the revised curriculum would enable clinical officers to remotely monitor patients while in their villages and be able to tell how the patient is coping.
“People with chronic conditions should not frequent the hospital all the time to see a health worker as the health worker can ably provide community services from wherever they may be. The patients may only visit the hospital for replenishment of medicine. That is part of the new technologies we have designed in this new curriculum,” she said.
Ms Rose Nassali Mugumisirize, the Chairperson of the Association of Principals of Health Training Institutions in Uganda who doubles as the principal of Uganda Institute of Allied Health and Management Sciences Mulago, said the revised curriculum will ensure the quality and quantity of health workers in the community based standardised protocols, to produce skilled health workers who adhere to established standards.
“The curriculum is key in enhancement of quality and that is why we have agreed on the review to have a standardized curriculum. Health is an evolving concept and we usually get new diseases emerging and re-emerging. For example, covid -19 brought about the need for students to be trained on how to manage oxygen, and emergency care, among others. Review of the curriculum enables establishment of standard procedures, and attainment of the quality that the country deserves to avoid half baked products,” she said.
