Fed TA - PMDC Junior Research Associate

Fed TA - PMDC Junior Research Associate

 IMPORTANT DATA 

Starting date of application form    26th August, 2024 

Last date of application form    4th September, 2024 

Location    Islamabad 

Category    STTA 

Jobs Position   1 

Type  Consultant 

Experience  5 years 

TORs: Junior National Research Associate 

Fed TA – 16: Governance Review of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) and Development of Institutional Reform Plan 

 

Programme 

Evidence for Health (E4H) is a Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO)-funded programme aiming at improving Pakistan's healthcare system, lowering the burden of illness, and saving lives. Palladium, in collaboration with Oxford Policy Management, is implementing E4H, which provides technical assistance (TA) to the Federal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab governments.  

E4H's flexible, embedded, and demand-driven strategy helps the government build a resilient health system that is ready for health emergencies, responds to the latest evidence, and provides equitable, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services. Specifically, E4H provides TA through three outputs: 

Output 1: Improved integrated health security, with a focus on preparedness and response to health emergencies, particularly pandemics. 

  

Output 2: Improved evidence-based decision-making to boost health-care performance and accountability. 

Output 3: Improved implementation of Universal Health Coverage, with a focus on eliminating unnecessary deaths. 

Problem Statement 

The National Health Vision (2016-25) - Pillar IV (Human Resources for Health) and Human Resource for Health Vision (2018-2030) aimed to address the critical gaps in the health workforce and to establish a national and provincial health workforce planning and development capability that provides the necessary tools (strategies, governance mechanisms, legislation) and resources to deliver a health workforce of sufficient size, composition, capability, and distribution to Both visions include aims and objectives for ensuring an adequate, skilled, and equitably dispersed health workforce in order to achieve universal health coverage and better health outcomes. 

  The medical professions of physicians and dentists were governed by the Pakistan            Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Act 1962, which was repealed by the Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 and subsequently expired. Later, the Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020 was enacted as a new law to govern the medical and dental workforces and institutions. This law was also replaced by the PMDC Act 2022, which is now the foundation for governing Pakistan's physicians and dentists.  

The PMDC Act of 2022 authorises the council to establish educational standards, license and register practitioners, regulate professional activity, and assure continuing professional development, quality assurance, and academic institution certification. Regulations of physicians and dentists are linked to similar reforms in the UK, particularly the Medical Act of 1858, followed by major modification and defining procedures. In 1983, revalidation and increased regulatory powers were implemented; in 2002, additional revisions were made to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic. This reflects the increasing role of regulation in the medical profession, as well as changes to practices in response to social concerns to ensure high-quality healthcare in the UK.  

Similarly, PMDC is in the process of transitioning to new reforms, and in order to properly execute the PMDC Act 2022, a governance review is needed, taking into account worldwide best practices and assessing all aspects of governance. Such a study will assist in identifying gaps and obstacles and developing institutional reform plans, ultimately guaranteeing that physicians, dentists, and their institutions provide high-quality care. 

Objectives 

The main goal of the technical assistance is to assess the PMDC's governance mechanism, identify gaps and existing difficulties, and design a strong institutional reform plan that will help streamline operations and implement best practices to improve governance, accountability, and results. 

Scope of Work and Methodology 

As a part of this TA assignment, the consultant will cover the following scope of work: 

Reviewing all acts related to PMDC along with global best practices, rules of business, and relevant documents:  This comprises existing regulations and reports on the health workforce, particularly medical doctors and dentists in Pakistan. Do a comparative analysis of PMC was better or PMDC, and who makes the act, the M/o NHSR&C, are they responsible for this? 

Review and document the organisational structure and the existing regulatory and coordination framework governing the PMDC, while considering practices in other countries 

Review practices and governance mechanisms related to the council and compare them with global best practices 

Consultation with stakeholders: Conduct interviews and consultative meetings with representatives from PMDC,  government agencies including departments of health, Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council, Higher education commission, College of Physicians & Surgeon Pakistan, other regulatory entities, health workers’ regulatory entities of other sectors (including climate change, information technology, food and agriculture, veterinary etc.), medical and dental professionals and associations, and educational institutes to define strategic priorities and actions Identify best practices and governance models that can be tailored to the PMDC's needs in order to produce better results.  

f. Review and relate the institutional reform plan to the UHC agenda, Pakistan's HRH vision 2018-30, and developments in the context of the 2005 International Health Regulations. 

The report on PMDC Governance Review with the Development of an Institutional Reform Plan shall outline, but not be limited to: 

Brief situation analysis/ evidence and challenges 

                    II. Process for Governance review with identification of challenges and future recommendations 

                   III. Findings of Governance review focusing on: i) strategic framework/ roadmap, ii) legislative 

framework, organisational structure, iii) coordination mechanisms; iv) regulatory and accountability procedures, including grievance redressal; v) evidence and intelligence; vi) efficiency, vii) effectiveness, viii) equity; ix) ethics; and x) transparency. The assessment should include cases pending for academic institution registration and licensing. 

Institutional reform plan includes strategic priorities and activities, stressing quality factors and outstanding registration and licensing issues.  

V. Mechanism for guaranteeing transparency, accountability, and grievance redressal 

VI. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: Establish KPIs, data gathering techniques, reporting procedures, and a strategy for continual improvement. 

8. Introducing the Governance Review and Institutional Reform Plan: Provide a clear and succinct presentation about the M/o NHSR&C, PMDC leadership, and key stakeholders.  

The Director General (Health) and President of PMDC, as well as the Director (Regulations), will be actively involved in the activities to the extent possible. The activity will also involve staff from the HPSIU, Ministry, and PMDC. The team will collaborate closely with backup support from WHO EMRO, the UK NHS health systems, and others. 

Timeline and LOE 

The post requires 50 working days from September 15 to December 15, 2024. 

Requirement 

Technical Expertise 

Postgraduate degree in public health or a related discipline.  

A minimum of 5 years of experience.  

Experience in data collection, collation, and analysis.  

Effective writing and communication skills. 

Competencies 

Working with Others  

Analysis and application of information 

Communication with others. 

Deliverables 

Based on an assessment of the literature, create a work plan and an inception report.  

Draft report on PMDC's governance evaluation and institutional reform. 

Final report and presentation, including comments and ideas.