The Philippines has an estimated population of 107 million people, and more than 60,000 children with serious illnesses who require palliative care each year. Despite this, there are not many palliative care programmes that can relieve suffering and support the needs of these children and their families.
From a spark of idea by Dr. Liza Naranjo and Dr. Megan Doherty, a new medical education course entitled “Collaborative Online Medical Education Training” (COMET) has been launched in partnership with the University of Ottawa, the National Children’s Hospital (NCH) in the Philippines, and the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration.
On September 13, 2023, during the inaugural ceremony, participants and faculty were honored to have Dr. Philip Morales, Medical Centre Chief, NCH and Dr. Joselyn Eusebio, Chair, Department of Paediatrics, NCH.
This course is designed to capacitate palliative care clinicians in teaching and training other health workers by providing a comprehensive introduction to education of health professionals, focusing on practical advice and best practices in bedside teaching, lectures and how to integrate scholarly activity into medical education work. The course includes 11 online interactive sessions with medical education experts on the following topics:
- Curriculum Development
- Principles of Good Teaching
- Selecting the Best Teaching Methods
- Needs Assessments
- Programme Evaluation
- MCQ Writing and Reviewing Quality Items/OSCE
- Workplace Teaching and Assessment
- Becoming a Medical Education Leader
- Competency-Based Medical Education
The course utilizes the Project ECHO methodology which connects participants with the faculty through a virtual platform. Each session begins with a didactic introduction based on assigned homework reading followed by interactive small group discussions. Additionally, at the end of the course a capstone project will be presented by the participants showcasing practical teaching solutions based on what they have learned.
Participants in the program include physicians, nurses, and other types of healthcare workers who are passionate in expanding their knowledge of educating health professionals.
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive an official certificate endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (UK).
Great work , Team Philippines