Strategic insights into initiating Bhutan's first medical school: A roadmap for other low-income countries

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a low-middle income, mountainous country that faces severe healthcare workforce shortage. With no medical school, it sent students to other countries for medical training.

A technical working group was tasked with planning a medical school affordable within the government's financial resources, leveraging existing postgraduate specialty training programs. Using a strategic roadmap, the group planned 13 steps including stakeholder meetings and developed a curriculum that reflected the unique culture of the country. Costs were calculated, and the number of faculty limited to control the costs.

The new medical school in Bhutan is a historic milestone for the country that offers an opportunity to be a model for the region. The planning strategy used, and lessons learned, could be helpful to other countries, especially other low and low middle income countries contemplating initiating or expanding medical education programs.

The new school will diligently monitor its finances and revenue generation to align with the budgets approved by government and continuously assess the quality of the curriculum and teaching methods implementation.