Medical students in Afghanistan can look forward to a more interactive and up to date curriculum thanks to a workshop run from August 1-5 by USAID’s HEP.  The ten participants from medical and nursing faculties traveled from Kabul, Khost, Kandahar, Kapisa, and Jalalabad to join colleagues in Hirat for the Training of Professional Instructors of Public Health.  In addition, three staff members from the Hirat Provincial Health Directorate were invited to attend the workshop.

Years of conflict and economic devastation in Afghanistan have meant medical students do not have the facilities needed to train properly in modern techniques of medicine and patient care.  Universities do not have a standard curriculum, and methods of teaching and learning and materials are often decades old.

The workshop focused on steps of developing a curriculum, content selection, teaching methodology, and assessment and evaluation procedures to document students’ learning.  Faculty members were prepared to incorporate materials they have discussed in previous HEP intensive public health courses.  Participants were very enthusiastic about adapting new teaching methods to the Afghan context and were particularly keen on interactive lecture techniques, which will include students involvement in the learning process in classes which are still very large.

Techniques were discussed and put into practice very quickly and the participants were excited about introducing them into classes.  Dr. Shafiq Ahmed Joya from the faculty of medicine in Hirat said, “During this course I learned how to make my lessons more interactive.  I also learned how to develop a case study to be used in the classroom.”  Students in Afghanistan will definitely welcome the change.