Postgraduate specialty education in health (residency education) is a crucial domain complementing undergraduate education and continuing professional development (CPD) in ensuring a fit-for-purpose, fit-to-practice health workforce. Worldwide, residency education is emerging as a distinct field that is rapidly evolving. In the current era of medical education reform, residency education is regarded as one of the most powerful factors affecting the quality and outcome of healthcare.1 It is hardly surprising, then, that there is a a renewed interest in promoting and transforming residency education in many countries. Advances, as well as tensions, are experienced in balancing innovation and standardization in the context of residency education.2 The Arab World has a history of postgraduate qualifications anchored in overseas training for doctors in the West. Following that, specialty programs within universities were developed, which eventually evolved into professional board-certified residency programs. Currently, national specialty boards prevail in most Arab countries, replacing university-led specialization. The Arab Board of Health Specializations (the Arab Board) exists at the regional level as a representative body spearheading residency education and certifying the specialist health workforce across Arab countries. Residency education based on board certification is increasingly recognized in the Arab World as the gold standard for licensing the health workforce for specialist practice. There is variation in the maturity and quality of residency education systems in the region, with some countries achieving international accreditation, others moving ahead with improvements, and a third category where residency education is rudimentary or nonexistent. Overall, a course of progression is evident in the region, while challenges also exist concerning the organization and delivery of residency education.3 Prominent issues include adopting competency-based educational models, expanding capacity for intake, accreditation and quality assurance, empowering residents and faculty, and adapting to the health system and population health needs. The totality of experience in the Arab World is encouraging and provides valuable lessons for reform and further development. Efforts are already in place in some countries to transform residency education towards competency-based models and address challenges. Regionally, the Arab Board is implementing a transformation program covering the domains of governance, accreditation, training, assessment, and digital transformation.4 The goal is to ensure that training programs are of high quality and curriculum are relevant and addressing existing health problems in the region. Furthermore, the Arab Board is leading two important initiatives. The first is a collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to create a regional framework for strengthening residency education systems, and the second is a research project to investigate critical topics related to improving governance and delivery of residency education. These initiatives and others to be expected are essential to chart a path into the future for residency education in the Arab World. Financial Support and Sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.
Elsheikh Badr (Mon,) studied this question.