System of postgraduate medical education in Armenia: brief comparative description of the current situation
Gohar A. Yerimyan
Avdalbekyan National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health, Yerevan, Armenia
ABSTRACT
Postgraduate medical education is an integral part of the process of becoming a physician. Provisions regarding postgraduate education for doctors in Armenia are established by law and are mandatory for independent professional practice. Comparative analysis of the postgraduate education systems for doctors, as well as educational models in Armenia and several developed countries has been conducted. The postgraduate medical education model of the newly independent Republic of Armenia has been initially established in Soviet Armenia and operates with certain modifications. Instead of requiring professional qualifications “on jobs” and short-term courses, the law now mandates professional postgraduate medical education. This aligns with the model proposed by the World Federation for Medical Education: basic medical education, postgraduate education and continuing professional development. According to the study, there are fundamental differences among the components of postgraduate medical education systems in leading countries and in Armenia, which have been identified and compared. Four main components have been highlighted: selection of specialists, financing, educational programs and quality control. These components involve fundamentally different approaches to the planning and implementation of processes. The analysis allows us to group these main components (selection of specialists, financing, educational programs, quality control) which are fundamentally different and the consideration of which can lead to qualitative changes in the postgraduate medical education system of Armenia.
Keywords: postgraduate medical education, health workforce