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Central Asian Republics / Tampa, Florida

2004-Present


Focus:  Medical Education, Curriculum Development

• The Partners
• Partnership Objectives
• Key Events
• Achievements
• Participating Institutions
• Related Article

The Partners

US Partner: The University of South Florida is the lead institution in a consortium including faculty of the University of Nevada/Reno and representatives of various US organizations that oversee medical education including the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)/Foundation for International Medical Education and Research, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

NIS Partner: The NIS partners are institutions from the Central Asian countries that provide undergraduate (or pre-service) medical education. In Kazakhstan, the partners are the Kazakh State Medical Academy in Astana and the West Kazakhstan Medical Academy in Aktobe; in Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy in Bishkek and the Medical Department of Osh State University; in Tajikistan, the Tajikistan Medical Institute in Dushanbe; and in Uzbekistan, the First and Second Tashkent State Medical Institutes.

Partnership Objectives

The overall goal of this multi-institutional partnership is to increase the capacity of medical institutions in CAR to produce high-quality graduates who are well prepared to meet the health care needs of their populations. Specific objectives are to:

• Strengthen the capacity of medical institutions in Central Asia, individually and regionally, to plan and implement educational reforms in priority areas.
  
  
• Enhance knowledge and skills of faculty to design and implement a curriculum that meets regional standards and is appropriate to the healthcare needs of each country.
  
  
• Develop capacity of medical institutions (including faculty and students) to conduct basic and applied research.
  
  
• Build awareness of and programs for student development issues.
  
  

Key Events

• 2004

  • A kick-off and planning meeting for the new regional undergraduate medical education partnership was held in Tashkent in February, bringing together administrative leadership teams from the seven participating CAR medical universities.
    
    
  • Rectors and vice rectors from Central Asia partnership institutions visited the University of South Florida (USF) in June to review the United States medical school accreditation process. The Central Asia partners participated in a mock accreditation site visit that provided the opportunity to observe real-life situations encountered in various stages of accreditation.
    
    
  • In September, two University of South Florida faculties joined a team from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health visiting several Central Asian research institutions. In conjunction with their visit, two workshops were provided for the CAR partners that addressed grantsmanship and research ethics.
    
    
  • In October, three University of South Florida faculty members were invited to attend the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health subcommittee meeting on medical education reform. They focused on issues of a competency-based education approach and standardized evaluation tools in their address to the committee and in written comments that followed.
    
    
  • A three-day conference, entitled Reforming the Medical Curriculum: Competency-Based Education and Progressive Evaluation to Support Life-Long Learning, was organized by the University of South Florida and CAR partners in October. Sixty senior CAR medical educators attended.

    
    

  2005

  • An expert of the Kazakhstan National Curriculum Development Department participated in the second meeting of the US National Tuberculosis Curriculum Consortium (NTCC) in February in San Diego, California.
    
    
  • In February, AIHA organized a study tour for the Kazakh first vice minister of health and the head of the Kazakh Education, Research, and Human Resources Department, to facilitate the medical education reform efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Health. The two-week study tour originated in Washington, DC, and included meetings at AAMC and LCME, as well as at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and George Washington University. After Washington, DC, the delegates visited the USF Health Sciences Center where they spent five days observing first-hand the USF medical school structure and its operation. The tour concluded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where several meetings were held at ECFMG and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education.
    
    
  • In April, USF faculty led a series of workshops for CAR partner schools in Almaty, Kazakhstan, focusing on the CAR medical school database and research infrastructure development.
    
    
  • A faculty from Kyrgyz State Medical Academy participated at a research ethics workshop at the Poynter Center at Indiana University in May 2005.
    
  
  

Achievements

Institutional Development

• During the February 2004 kick-off meeting, several peer networks were established among the partner institutions to address relevant issues in medical education programs in the region.
  
  

Research

• University of South Florida partners developed an interactive, Web-based survey on research needs and capabilities for CAR medical schools. Fifteen medical schools in CAR participated in this survey and USF partners did a preliminary evaluation of research capacity in CAR. The survey results, identifying the CAR partners' research needs, were presented and discussed at the grantsmanship workshop that was delivered in September 2004.
  
  
• The Coordinating Council for Research (CCR), with the purpose of providing assistance with development of grant proposals, reviewing research projects, as well as helping to implement bioethics international standards in the region, was established. The six-member council with representatives from five CAR countries, including Turkmenistan, was selected at the first working meeting of vice rectors on research, held by the partnership during the September workshop.

Participating Institutions

• University of South Florida
• University of Nevada/Reno
• Kazakh State Medical Academy in Astana
• West Kazakhstan Medical Academy in Aktobe
• Kyrgyz State Medical Academy in Bishkek
• Medical Department of Osh State University
• Tajikistan Medical Institute in Dushanbe
• First Tashkent State Medical Institute
• Second Tashkent Medical Institute

Related Article

• Reforming Medical Education in Kazakhstan (Connections, March 2006)

Updated on July 17, 2007

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