Curriculum Development: Postgraduate Diploma in Health Systems Management

Postgraduate diploma in health systems management (PDHSM) curriculum was designed and developed to equip medical doctors with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to manage health systems and resources for quality patient care and safety.

Describe processes and steps to design and develop a new curriculum using the development of PDHSM as a guide by identifying learning needs; using the six-step approach to curriculum development; incorporating quality assurance and quality enhancement frameworks; and identifying evaluation methods.

Four (4) subject content experts in health policy, planning, and management and experienced public health physicians at the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria deliberated, determined, and compiled learning needs that were incorporated into the design and development of the new curriculum for PDHSM. The learning needs, informal data on key learning issues in health system management and specific challenges in the context and operational environment were analyzed. Triangulation of information from these different perspectives and opinions was aligned with medical doctors' educational needs to acquire competency in managing health systems. The derived instructional needs, assessment methods, and resources were incorporated into the design, development, and evaluation of the PDHSM curriculum. The outline of the curriculum was developed using the curriculum matrix table.

The contents of the developed curriculum in PDHSM include the purpose, organization of the programme, educational experience, and evaluation of the curriculum. The curriculum was structured into modules. Each module has intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of major subject areas of HSM and teaching and learning activities that outline methods of instruction and assessments. The Indicative contents of each module are topics of each subject area of the PDHSM. The assessment formats in the curriculum included both formative and summative assessment methods and types. The resources required for instructional and assessment activities were identified. The evaluation methods of the curriculum will be through reviews of assessment results and performance evaluation of students, tutors, and the PDHSM programme.

The educational needs of medical doctors to function as managers in the health systems determine the development of intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, indicative contents, resources required, and evaluation of the PDHSM curriculum. Quality assurance and quality enhancement should be part of curriculum design and development.