Health professions education in Serbia: Evaluation and measures for quality improvement through experiential education, interprofessional education and teaching competencies development

Abstract

Background/Aim. Health professions education is facing emerging issues. A comprehensive situation analysis was performed among academic staff, healthcare practitioners, and healthcare science students to address and respond to new trends. The aim of the study was to investigate the attitude, perception, and the recognized needs towards experiential education (EE), interprofessional education (IPE), and teaching competencies development (TCD). The critical evaluation of the existing quality standards for further quality improvement in health professions education in Serbia was provided. Methods. The survey on EE, IPE, and TCD was conducted within the Reinforcement of the Framework for Experiential Education in Serbia (ReFEEHS) project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Comission at four Serbian universities (the University of Belgrade, the University of Kragujevac, the University of Niš, and the University of Novi Sad). Four task groups were appointed to perform a desk review of the existing curricula, recommendations, and practices within each of the four health professions education (Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Nursing) in Serbia and assess the level of compliance with relevant educational policies and practices in the European Union . Results. A total of 1,507 respondents completed the survey. A highly expressed positive attitude was found towards EE, IPE, and TCD among all the respondents. The majority of the respondents (> 70%) shared that EE should be organized in real-life practice and involve students’ work under the supervision of a qualified supervisor, as well as interactions with patients and healthcare professionals. About 90% of the respondents supported the inclusion of IPE teaching activities into EE, with 77% of students expressing high motivation to attend those classes, whereas 93% of academic staff was eager to deliver and teach joint IPE subjects. Only 20% of academic staff has already attended some TCD program, while 75% recognized the need for its organization. Moreover, 90% of healthcare practitioners have recognized that mentors/clinical supervisors also need additional skills for effective mentoring work within health science education. Based on the survey results, recommendations for improvement were given within three educational fields, healthcare science curricula, professional practice (traineeship), teaching staff, and regulations. Conclusion. The results derived from the survey served as a starting but also a vital point for higher education improvement in Serbia. All interested parties – academia, students, healthcare professionals, and regulatory bodies should collaborate on achieving improved, contemporary, and transformative health professions education.

Uvod/Cilj. Obrazovanje u oblasti zdravstva suočava se sa novim pitanjima. Da bi se odgovorilo na savremene zahteve obrazovanja zdravstvenih radnika, sprovedena je sveobuhvatna situaciona analiza. Cilj istraživanja bio je da se istraže stavovi, percepcije i prepoznaju potrebe akademske zajednice, zdravstvenih radnika i studenata zdravstvenih profesija, u odnosu prema učenju u realnom radnom okruženju, tj. nastavi u praksi (experiential education - EE), interprofesionalnom obrazovanju (interprofessional education - IPE) i unapređenju nastavničkih kompetencija (teaching competencies development - TCD). Radi daljeg unapređenja u oblasti obrazovanja, za zdravstvene radnike u Srbiji obezbeđeno je kritičko vrednovanje postojećih standarda kvaliteta. Metode. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u okviru projekta Reinforcement of the Framework for Experiential Education in Serbia (ReFEEHS), ko-finansiranog od strane Erasmus+ programa Evropske komisije na četiri univerziteta u Republici Srbiji (Univerzitet u Beogradu, Univerzitet u Kragujevcu, Univerzitet u Nišu i Univerzitet u Novom Sadu). Određene su četiri radne grupe, sa zadatkom razmatranja trenutnih kurikuluma, preporuka i prakse u okviru svake zdravstvene profesije (medicina, farmacija, stomatologija, sestrinstvo), kao i procene njihove usklađenosti sa relevantnim preporukama i praksom u obrazovanju u Evropskoj uniji. Rezultati. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 1 507 ispitanika. Pozitivan stav prema EE, IPE i TCD zabeležen je među svim ispitanicima. Više od 70% ispitanika iskazalo je stav o tome da je potrebno organizovati EE, tj. nastavu u praksi u realnom radnom okruženju, što bi podrazumevalo stručni rad studenata pod nadzorom kompetentnog mentora, ali i interakciju sa bolesnicima, kao i interakciju sa zdravstvenim radnicima. Oko 90% ispitanika podržalo je uključivanje IPE nastavnih aktivnosti u kurikulume; 77% studenata izrazilo je motivisanost da prisustvuju zajedničkim predmetima, dok je čak 93% nastavnika i saradnika iskazalo volju da učestvuju u kreiranju i podučavanju nastavnih jedinica u okviru IPE. Prethodno je samo 20% nastavnika/saradnika pohađalo neki TCD program, dok je čak 75% prepoznalo potrebu za organizacijom tih programa; 90% zdravstvenih radnika smatralo je da su za efikasan mentorski rad u obrazovanju u oblasti zdravstvene nauke potrebne dodatne veštine mentora/kliničkih supervizora. Na osnovu sagledanih rezultata upitnika, date su preporuke za unapređenje visokog obrazovanja u okviru tri obrazovne oblasti budućih zdravstvenih radnika, koje se odnose na kurikulum, studentsku stručnu praksu/klinički staž, nastavno osoblje i regulatorne aspekte. Zaključak. Dobijeni rezultati korišćeni su kao polazna, ali veoma značajna tačka za unapređenje visokog obrazovanja u Srbiji. Sve zainteresovane strane - akademska zajednica, studenti, zdravstveni radnici i regulatorna tela, treba da sarađuju u cilju postizanja unapređenog i savremenog obrazovanja zdravstvenih radnika.