azskeptic
06-29-2006, 01:34 PM
http://www.jis.gov.jm/education/html/20060628T100000-0500_9254_JIS_OPPOSITION_SUPPORT_LEGISLATION_TO_ES TABLISH_REGIONAL_ACCREDITATION_BODY_FOR_DOCTORS.as p
Opposition Support Legislation to Establish Regional Accreditation Body for Doctors
KINGSTON(JIS)
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Opposition Spokesman on Education, Andrew Holness has expressed support for legislation to establish a regional accreditation authority for doctors and other health professionals.
Contributing to the debate on the matter in the House of Representatives yesterday (June 27), Mr. Holness said it was inevitable that Jamaica, and indeed CARICOM, would have to form its own medical training institution.
"Indeed, for some time now, the general medical council has given notice that it would not be able to continue to accredit our institutions and for more reasons than one.the advancement in medicine, both in terms of technology and the facilities, would make it necessary for Jamaica to develop its own accreditation, which would in essence, be in a way different from the accreditation of the general medical council," he stated.
He however, raised concern about the composition of the accreditation body, noting that Jamaica had only one representative, with the University of the West Indies (Medical School), not included.
Education and Youth Minister, Maxine Henry Wilson, in responding to the concern, said that, "if you look at the composition, it doesn't prevent the UWI (Medical School) from being included, but what it (the Act) says is that other institutions, including the UWI must nominate three members," noting that, the Mona campus was part of a larger medical network in the Caribbean.
"The composition also attempts to create a balance with representatives from other jurisdictions and other related medical fields," she said.
The legislation will give effect to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Accreditation Authority in Medicine and other Health Professionals, which has been signed by eight CARICOM countries including Jamaica, and will put in place, an accreditation system that is internationally recognised.
At the opening of the debate on June 13, Mrs. Henry Wilson explained that the Act, would seek to "establish an efficient system of regulation in relation to the standards and the quality of the programmes of study in medicine and other health professions; secure international recognition of the programmes of studies in medicine and other health professions, and thereby maintain the confidence of the people of the region in the quality of the training offered in the community in medicine and other related health professions."
The functions of the authority will relate specifically to determining and prescribing standards, selecting suitable persons as assessors, and appointing panels of assessors.
Other functions of the authority are: accrediting on the basis of the report made by the assessors of programmes of study in medicine and other health professions; facilitating the development of an accreditation and quality assurance ethos in the community; and approving arrangements and systems for accrediting programmes of study.
The Education and Youth Minister pointed out that in terms of the purposes and consequences of the accreditation, the authority would be seeking mutual recognition from other established medical educational bodies, and in turn, would also be responsible for an ongoing review of accreditation standards.
Previously, accreditation for persons training in medicine at the University College in the West Indies, which preceded the UWI, came from the University of London.
After the UWI was granted its independence in 1962, graduates of the medical programme received automatic recognition from the General Medical Council (GMC) of Great Britain. Accreditation status from the Council allowed graduates the ability to register and practice in other British Commonwealth countries. The Minister said accreditation by the GMC continued over the years, with the Council's members visiting the UWI and the other medical schools that were subsequently established in other Caribbean territories, to examine their syllabuses, the levels of qualifications, and the support mechanisms for medicine.
The Education Minister told the House, that the standards of the GMC as well as those of the liaison committee on medical education in the United States and Canada have been reviewed, and comparable standards developed for the authority to ensure regional and international acceptance of the qualifications of persons trained in medicine at participating universities in the region.
Of the authority's membership, the Education Minister said it would consist of three persons nominated jointly by the academic institutions in the community offering training in medicine other than dental medicine and veterinary medicine; one person nominated jointly by academic institutions in the community offering training in dental medicine and a similar nominee in the field of veterinary medicine.
Also to be included are two persons nominated jointly by regional organisations representing civil society; two students enrolled in training programmes in medicine at the academic institutions in the community and nominated by the institutions; two persons from outside the region, who have expertise in the accreditation of training programmes in medicine or other health professions; one person representing the Caribbean Association of Medical Councils; and three persons to be appointed on a rotational basis.
Opposition Support Legislation to Establish Regional Accreditation Body for Doctors
KINGSTON(JIS)
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Opposition Spokesman on Education, Andrew Holness has expressed support for legislation to establish a regional accreditation authority for doctors and other health professionals.
Contributing to the debate on the matter in the House of Representatives yesterday (June 27), Mr. Holness said it was inevitable that Jamaica, and indeed CARICOM, would have to form its own medical training institution.
"Indeed, for some time now, the general medical council has given notice that it would not be able to continue to accredit our institutions and for more reasons than one.the advancement in medicine, both in terms of technology and the facilities, would make it necessary for Jamaica to develop its own accreditation, which would in essence, be in a way different from the accreditation of the general medical council," he stated.
He however, raised concern about the composition of the accreditation body, noting that Jamaica had only one representative, with the University of the West Indies (Medical School), not included.
Education and Youth Minister, Maxine Henry Wilson, in responding to the concern, said that, "if you look at the composition, it doesn't prevent the UWI (Medical School) from being included, but what it (the Act) says is that other institutions, including the UWI must nominate three members," noting that, the Mona campus was part of a larger medical network in the Caribbean.
"The composition also attempts to create a balance with representatives from other jurisdictions and other related medical fields," she said.
The legislation will give effect to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Accreditation Authority in Medicine and other Health Professionals, which has been signed by eight CARICOM countries including Jamaica, and will put in place, an accreditation system that is internationally recognised.
At the opening of the debate on June 13, Mrs. Henry Wilson explained that the Act, would seek to "establish an efficient system of regulation in relation to the standards and the quality of the programmes of study in medicine and other health professions; secure international recognition of the programmes of studies in medicine and other health professions, and thereby maintain the confidence of the people of the region in the quality of the training offered in the community in medicine and other related health professions."
The functions of the authority will relate specifically to determining and prescribing standards, selecting suitable persons as assessors, and appointing panels of assessors.
Other functions of the authority are: accrediting on the basis of the report made by the assessors of programmes of study in medicine and other health professions; facilitating the development of an accreditation and quality assurance ethos in the community; and approving arrangements and systems for accrediting programmes of study.
The Education and Youth Minister pointed out that in terms of the purposes and consequences of the accreditation, the authority would be seeking mutual recognition from other established medical educational bodies, and in turn, would also be responsible for an ongoing review of accreditation standards.
Previously, accreditation for persons training in medicine at the University College in the West Indies, which preceded the UWI, came from the University of London.
After the UWI was granted its independence in 1962, graduates of the medical programme received automatic recognition from the General Medical Council (GMC) of Great Britain. Accreditation status from the Council allowed graduates the ability to register and practice in other British Commonwealth countries. The Minister said accreditation by the GMC continued over the years, with the Council's members visiting the UWI and the other medical schools that were subsequently established in other Caribbean territories, to examine their syllabuses, the levels of qualifications, and the support mechanisms for medicine.
The Education Minister told the House, that the standards of the GMC as well as those of the liaison committee on medical education in the United States and Canada have been reviewed, and comparable standards developed for the authority to ensure regional and international acceptance of the qualifications of persons trained in medicine at participating universities in the region.
Of the authority's membership, the Education Minister said it would consist of three persons nominated jointly by the academic institutions in the community offering training in medicine other than dental medicine and veterinary medicine; one person nominated jointly by academic institutions in the community offering training in dental medicine and a similar nominee in the field of veterinary medicine.
Also to be included are two persons nominated jointly by regional organisations representing civil society; two students enrolled in training programmes in medicine at the academic institutions in the community and nominated by the institutions; two persons from outside the region, who have expertise in the accreditation of training programmes in medicine or other health professions; one person representing the Caribbean Association of Medical Councils; and three persons to be appointed on a rotational basis.