In-country activities
Peer Review Groups in Family Medicine in Tajikistan
Shakhlo Yarbaeva, National Coordinator of the Medical Education Reform Project, Tajikistan
Mouazamma Djamalova, SDC Tajikistan
Family
Medicine and the delivery of quality primary health care are priorities
within the Republic of Tajikistan’s health reform programme. Family
doctors carry a huge responsibility, providing comprehensive care at the
primary health level for patients of all ages, and covering a wide
range of health problems including communicable and non-communicable
diseases as well as antenatal care. Family doctors and nurses are called
upon to update their knowledge and skills through continuing medical
education courses as part of broader quality improvement measures.
Nowadays,
many methods of updating knowledge and skills are practiced around the
world. The SDC-funded Medical Education Reform Project in Tajikistan has
supported the introduction of modern forms of continuing medical
education for doctors and nurses in pilot districts. One of these
methods is the Peer Review group which functions in a similar way to
‘Quality Circles’ and uses a problem-oriented approach to discussing
clinical and other problems among peers, conveniently taking place at or
near the workplace.
The
Peer Review Group has been accepted as playing an important role in
helping Family Doctors and Nurses to improve their practice in the Tajik
context, and the experiences are now being shared with other countries
in the region.
