The odyssey of medical education in Indonesia

Rita Mustika*, Hiroshi Nishigori, Sjamsuhidajat Ronokusumo, Albert Scherpbier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Medical education in Indonesia has undergone a long journey. It began with the establishment of medical training for native youth in a military hospital in Jakarta during the Dutch colonial period in 1849. Since then, the number of medical schools has increased according to socio-political needs. Currently, there are 83 medical schools, public and private, which generate approximately 8000 graduates per year. The explosion in the number of medical schools challenged quality of medical education. Indeed, several curriculum changes and improvements applied to elevate the quality. Undergraduate program was initially implementing Dutch curriculum, but was then changed into American curriculum. The improvement continued by implementing the first and the second national curriculum. Since 2005 a national level competency-based curriculum (CBC) was carried out for undergraduate programs, while for postgraduate clinical training the CBC began later on. Moreover, Medical Internship Program and the National Competency-based Examination were introduced following the CBC. Nevertheless, some problems with advancement of medical schools were identified, including lack of staff and facilities, existing learning cultures and limitation of experts. Accordingly, many efforts have been made, including enactment of law on medical education and national accreditation. In the future, support from international organizations in terms of financial, consultation, faculty development and accreditation should be optimized. In addition, collaboration with medical education community elsewhere would be beneficial to overcome the challenges and promote the quality of medical education.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4-8
Number of pages5
JournalThe Asia Pacific Scholar
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • Curriculum Changes
  • Indonesia
  • Medical Education
  • Medical Schools

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