Investing in scholarship for health professions education: Learning from the past to move into the future

Abstract

There have been recent discourses of what scholarship means for health professions education (HPE) and how it may need a rethink during the pandemic. One key take home message from these discourses is the role of institutions in nurturing and investing in scholarship. Given the current challenges faced by both higher education and healthcare, there is a risk that activities and resources for scholarship in HPE may be neglected. How do institutions make a case for continuous investment in HPE scholarship? Despite being a relatively new and small private university with no public funding, IMU has made fairly significant progress in delivering a unique model of HPE programmes with HPE scholarly output. This commentary discusses the importance of investing in scholarship for HPE with the International Medical University (IMU) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a case study. Examples of institutional initiatives that support and enhance scholarship are presented based on the recent AMEE guide (142) on redefining scholarship.

Keywords:

• International medical education
• medical education research
• leadership
• scholarship
• investment

Acknowledgements

This commentary was inspired by one of the founders of IMU, the late Dr Mei Ling Young (Association for the Study of Medical Education, ASME, Gold Medal recipient, 2017) as it was her leadership and support that led to early investment in HPE scholarship in IMU.

The IMU supplement is sponsored and supported by IMU Education Sdn Bhd.

Disclosure statement

We have declared our interest by stating our current roles in the organisation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

V. D. Nadarajah

V. D. Nadarajah, BSc(Hons), MHPE, PhD, is a biochemist and medical educationist and currently Prof Vice Chancellor Education and Institutional Development at IMU.

V. K. E. Lim

V. K. E. Lim, MBBS, MSc, FRCPath, is a medical microbiologist, former education chair of the Malaysian Medical Council and currently Pro Vice Chancellor, Quality and Special Functions at IMU.

A. A. Baba

A. A. Baba, MBBS, FRCP, is a haematologist, former Dean of USM School of Medicine and currently Vice Chancellor at IMU.