Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42718925›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical education and curricular development

Harmonising Competency-Based Medical and Dental Curricula in Ghana.

Kwaku Asah Opoku, Eric N Y Nyarko, Akua B Konadu, Aaron Drovandi, Alfred E Yawson, Sandra Hewlett, Divine N Banyubala, Silke Conen, Dhammika Deepani Siriwardhana, Lucie Byrne-Davis and 1 more

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Article in Journal of medical education and curricular development. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Kwaku Asah OpokuCollege of Health Sciences, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4770-8837
Eric N Y NyarkoCollege of Health Sciences, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3757-2569
Akua B KonaduCollege of Health Sciences, University of Ghana Dental School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1753-2404
Aaron DrovandiSchool of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8682-1218
Alfred E YawsonCollege of Health Sciences, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Sandra HewlettCollege of Health Sciences, University of Ghana Dental School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Divine N BanyubalaMedical and Dental Council of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Silke ConenSchool of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Dhammika Deepani SiriwardhanaSchool of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Lucie Byrne-DavisSchool of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Jo HartSchool of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Competency-based education improves the quantity and quality of healthcare professionals, though many countries are yet to transition from traditional education. This study aimed to identify competencies for medical and dental undergraduates in Ghana, and explore experiences and perceptions of implementing competency-based education in medical and dental undergraduate programmes in Ghana. Methods: A two-day consensus workshop was held, alongside semi-structured interviews with medical and dental leadership in Ghana, and an online survey of medical and dental faculty and students. In the workshop, a nominal group technique was used to reach consensus on competencies. Interviews explored perceptions of competency-based education and its implementation with medical and dental leaders. The online survey was distributed across all faculty in medical and dental schools in Ghana and cascaded to students to explore perceptions of competency-based education amongst faculty and student stakeholders. Interview and survey participant characteristics are narratively summarised, with open-ended survey responses and interview transcripts undergoing content and thematic analysis respectively. Results: Twenty-six leaders took part in the consensus workshop, with 18 of these interviewed. Completed surveys were received from 70 participants. A ten domain, 63-item competency framework for medical and dental graduates in Ghana was produced. Competency-based education was perceived positively by all stakeholder groups, and reported as the way forward in medical and dental education in Ghana through producing more confident and competent graduates. Challenges were raised, including ensuring stakeholder buy-in, organising regulator and institution communications, and securing physical infrastructure, digital resources and funding. The concept of harmonising curricula was positively received, having been previously attempted by several institutions in Ghana, but the same challenges affecting its development and implementation were identified. Conclusion: The harmonised competency-based outcomes framework developed in this study serves as a starting point in ensuring the consistent production of high quality medical and dental graduates in Ghana. Implementation will require the regulator leading and monitoring individual institutions for compliance and providing support.

Indexed as

curriculaframeworkharmonizationinterviewsleadershipmixed-methodssurvey

Identifiers

PMID42718925
PMCPMC13554532

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.