PAHS: a Nepali project with international implications
Clinical Governance: An International Journal
ISSN: 1477-7274
Article publication date: 24 April 2009
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), an initiative for rural medical education in Nepal, and show its implications for rural medical education in other contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a methodology from the field of design to identify solution requirements based on an understanding of the operational context and evaluates how the initiative meets these requirements.
Findings
The PAHS model meets the extremely challenging requirements of the Nepali context for rural medical education by providing a model of education that is closely integrated with rural communities and working to develop leaders in community health. It faces important future challenges in obtaining sustainable funding and implementation of tele‐health.
Practical implications
On several levels, the project offers potential lessons for similar initiatives in North America: community health leadership; early and sustained community engagement; a pre‐medical course to bring students to a common standard; and role modeling by faculty. The approach will be of interest to those responsible for rural medical education in the developed and developing worlds.
Originality/value
The paper shows how the local context in rural medical education can be understood by evaluating desirability for users, viability and feasibility.
Keywords
Citation
Courneya, C. and Dunne, D. (2009), "PAHS: a Nepali project with international implications", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 134-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270910952298
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited