Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) inaugurated the promotion of Dr. Titi Savitri Prihatiningsih, MD, to a professor of medical education and bioethics on Tuesday, November 28, at the UGM Senate Hall.
The Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing lecturer spoke in her inaugural lecture on “Competency-Based Medical Education in the Context of Achieving Health for All: Implications for Accreditation Systems.”
In her presentation, Professor Prihatiningsih said that with its many islands, Indonesia sees disparities and finds difficulties in providing equal access to its health services. This results in a significant discrepancy in health indicators between advanced and underdeveloped regions or urban and rural areas.
The inequality in health services is not solely the government’s responsibility; universities with medical faculties in those regions also play a part. Hence, the country needs a medical education accreditation system that allows each medical faculty to address its region’s challenges and health needs.
It should accommodate the creativity and innovation of each medical faculty in implementing competency-based medical education (CBME).
“Educational institutions can directly contribute to realizing the goal of Health for All and how an accreditation system with the power to bring about change can accelerate the achievement of this goal through the implementation of competency-based medical education,” she said.
CBME is based on the philosophy of social constructivism and existentialism. This education model focuses on the holistic development of students so that, upon graduation, they can actively contribute to improving the community’s health status.
“The doctor’s ability is referred to as competency, which is a unity of all cognitive, affective, psychomotor, emotional, clinical reasoning, values, and other domains,” she explained.
When a doctor graduates and obtains a competency certificate, it doesn’t mean they will be competent forever. Competency must constantly be tested and evaluated. A doctor working on specific cases in a remote health center for a long time needs adjustments when moving to a hospital in a large city.
In addition to being competency-based, there is also an international movement called the Global Consensus for Social Accountability of Medical Schools, which was declared by representatives of more than 130 medical faculty associations worldwide.
This global consensus encourages the adoption of 10 strategic directions for medical faculties to be socially accountable, two of which include adopting CBME and improving the quality of socially accountable medical education.
Equally important is the implementation of a national accreditation system for medical education. This system can significantly increase public health if this substantial resource ensures medical faculties move towards social accountability.
“The accreditation system needs to be directed to assess the overall functions of medical faculties in improving public health,” she said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Firsto