Ensuring Continuity of Health Professions Training Amid a Global Pandemic

Lessons From the Uganda Safe Schools Initiative

Bibliographic Data

ID21615085
AuthorsThomas Balizzakiwa (is physician and coordinator, EMS ECHO Initiative, Ministry of Health Uganda, and an intern, Seed Global Health, Kampala, Uganda T. Balizzakiwa ; [email protected]), Pius Achanga (is head, Institutional and Programme Accreditation, National Council for Higher Education, Kampala, Uganda P. Achanga ; [email protected]), Pius Coxwell Achanga (Uganda National Council for Higher Education), Bonaventure Ahaisibwe (0000-0002-7112-2959, is managing director of impact and innovation, Seed Global Health, Kampala, Uganda B. Ahaisibwe ; [email protected]), Vanessa Kerry (0000-0001-9363-6830, is co-founder and chief executive officer, Seed Global Health, and director, Program in Global Public Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts V. Kerry ; [email protected]), Irene Atuhairwe Duhaga (is country director, Seed Global Health Uganda, Kampala, Uganda I. Atuhairwe Duhaga ; [email protected]), Daniel Semakula (0000-0002-0806-213X, is a Fogarty African Bioethics Consortium postdoctoral fellow, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda D. Semakula ; [email protected]), Nelson K Sewankambo (0000-0001-9362-053X, is professor emeritus of medicine, former dean, Makerere University Medical School, and past principal, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda N. Sewankambo ; [email protected]), Kiran Mitha Masood (0000-0002-8436-6952, is associate director of pediatrics, Seed Global Health, and associate clinical professor, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California K.M. Masood, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume99
Issue4
Pages395-401
Publication date2024-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAcademic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1040-2446 • E-ISSN: 1938-808X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/acm.0000000000005570
PMID38039980
OpenAlexW4389279317
LanguageEN
References cited11

Uganda experienced 2 COVID-19 waves that challenged health professional education. All health professions training institutions (HPTIs) in Uganda closed in March 2020. Cognizant of the threat to quality education and the frontline workforce, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and Seed Global Health partnered to examine the risks and benefits of HPTI reopening through the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI). This article described the processes to unify stakeholders in health professions education and the outcomes from these discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. During the first COVID-19 wave, the SSI conducted consultative meetings with key stakeholders. The SSI developed guidelines around student welfare and issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for HPTI reopening. The NCHE recommended in-person learning for final-year students and online learning for junior years, resulting in HPTIs being the first academic institutions to reopen in the country. During the second COVID-19 wave, schools closed again. The SSI utilized recently published literature and quantitative data to inform decision making in addition to expert consensus. The NCHE recommended immediate phased reopening for students in clinical years, blended learning for nonclinical years, and prioritizing health professions education in future lockdowns. Consequently, HPTIs reopened within a month of closure. The SSI demonstrated that national advocacy for health professions education can be effective when engaging stakeholders to build consensus around difficult decisions. Key lessons learned from the SSI include the following: (1) collaborating across sectors in health professions education can amplify change, (2) occupational health guidelines must include health professions students, (3) investing in online education and simulation has value in outbreak-prone areas, and (4) systemic inequities in health professions education will require persistence and advocacy to correct. Future pandemic preparedness must prioritize HPTIs to ensure quality education and continuity of a frontline workforce

Global health · Medical education · Pandemic · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Workforce · COVID-19 and healthcare impacts · COVID-19 and Mental Health · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Medicine · Nursing

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