The past, present and future of medical education in Cambodia

Abstract

This paper describes the past, present, and future of medical education in Cambodia. Although doctor training began in 1902, the first medical school was not founded until 1946. Since the colonial era, the curriculum and teaching strategies have been strongly influenced by the French system, dominated by didactic lectures and the apprenticeship model. Three chronic issues have plagued medical education in the country following the Khmer Rouge regime: a shortage of doctors, poor-quality training, and lack of relevance to the current and future population needs. An increasing number of medical schools and yearly student enrollment have addressed the first issue. Today, the fundamental challenges have shifted from quantity to ensuring the quality and relevance of medical education. Competency-based medical education (CBME) has been adopted as a new curricular model to tackle the latter two issues. Active collaboration between government institutions, public universities, and development partners drives this curricular reform at the national and institutional levels. This paper further examines the challenges associated with medical education and proposes recommendations.

Keywords:

• Cambodia
• competency-based medical education
• medical education

Acknowledgement

The authors express their gratitude to Professor Vonthanak Saphonn, Rector of the University of Health Sciences, for his continuous and supportive leadership in health professions education, and also thank the Global Health Through Education, Training, and Service (GHETS) for support in developing local champions in medical education..

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Sengkhoun Lim

Sengkhoun Lim, MD, MHPE, AFAMEE, is a technical advisor of medical education at GIZ-Cambodia and a part-time teacher at the University of Health Sciences, Cambodia.

Sambath Cheab

Sambath Cheab, MD, is a focal person for the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Health Cambodia, a task force in the national curriculum reform for Medical Doctors, and a part-time teacher at the University of Health Sciences, Cambodia.

Laura N. Goldman

Laura N. Goldman, MD, Clinical Professor, the Department of Family Medicine, Boston University Chobanian and Avedesian School of Medicine, the United States, is a consultant in medical education in Cambodia.

Ponndara Ith

Ponndara Ith, MD, PhD, is the head of the Bureau of Academic and Training Affairs at the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Health Sciences, Cambodia.

Youttiroung Bounchan

Youttiroung Bounchan, MD, is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Health Sciences, Cambodia.