Medical education in Jordan
Encyclopedia
Medical education in Jordan includes educational activities involved in the education and training of Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS
) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from entry-level training through to continuing education of qualified specialists.
The history of Jordanian medical education
and its current status are shown below, as well as an outline of the infrastructure, admission system, curricula and academia of Jordanian medical schools.
started in 1972 with the establishment of the first medical school in The University of Jordan
(JU). The increasing demand for undergraduate medical studies created a motivation for additional medical schools, and a second medical school was established in Yarmouk University
at the northern city of Irbid
in 1984; the university then branched out into Jordan University of Science and Technology
(JUST) in 1986. A third medical school was founded in 2001 in Mutah University
(MU), situated in the southern city of Karak
. Finally, in 2006, a fourth medical school was established in the central region of the country at Zarka within the Hashemite University
(HU). All of the medical schools, to date, have been established in public universities; there are no existing private medical schools. Graduates from Jordanian medical schools currently play an important role in the development of the country’s healthcare system. Moreover, the Jordanian medical education system is one of the most highly regarded in the Middle East
and therefore many students from the region study medicine in Jordan. The country is ranked by the World Bank to be the number one health-care services provider in the region and among the top five in the world.
. This form of admission system is supported by the majority of the society, who sees in it a mean of guaranteeing equal chances of accessing medical education for all. Medical schools’ admissions are further regulated by two different systems:
Students with the highest marks in the national high school exams gain admission through the General Competition System. The extremely low percentage of accepted applications, only 6%, is indicative of the high level of competition in order to gain access to the medical schools. Students admitted through this General Competition pathway are rewarded with partially subsidized, inexpensive tuition fees. Currently, 52% of students’ admissions are in this category.
Non-resident international applicants and Jordanian students with lower high school marks can still gain access to medical education by paying more expensive international tuition fees (The Parallel System). The minimum requirement for these students is a high school mark of at least 85%. The Parallel Admission System was established as an answer to the increasingly poor financial situation within the medical schools.
In Jordan, three out of the four medical schools give admission to less than 200 students per year; these numbers resemble those of some universities in industrialized countries such as the USA and Europe; most of the medical schools in Europe give admission to less than 200 students per year (53.4%) (Patricio 1999), while in the USA the average number of admissions per school is of 132 in public universities and 127 in private ones (Barzansky & Etzel 2005). During the academic year of 2006–2007, there were 4095 medical students registered in all Jordanian medical schools, many of them from international countries of 29 different nationalities, all of which credit Jordanian medical education within their own country. The number of female students (35.1%) is slightly lower than in most Western countries.
The credibility of the Jordanian medical degrees is confirmed by the success rate of its graduates in the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) for specialty access to the USA (Unpublished data provided by the FAIMER, 2007). Between 2002 and 2006, 92.52% of the Jordanian graduates presenting to the USMLE step 1 (basic medical sciences) passed the exam on their first attempt and 93.62% the step 2 (clinical sciences).
has established a National Committee for standards and accreditation to carry out this quality assessment.
behavioral criteria (attendance and relationship with staff and patient) and the quality of their clinical work.
In all Jordanian medical schools, assessments at this stage consist of multiple choice questions (MCQ), patient management problems and oral examination. In addition to the other forms of assessment, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were introduced at The University of Jordan
(JU) IN 2007.
At the end of the 6th year, students are assessed by a comprehensive theoretical assessment of mainly written examinations, and a clinical assessment conducted by committees composed of faculty teaching staff, national external examiners from different Jordanian medical schools, and external examiners from Arab and western universities. The Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
(MBBS) degree is awarded to the students who pass both assessments.
In 1982, the Jordan Medical Council (JMC) was created to control the practice of medical specialties in the country, and the first complete residency program was established at the University Hospital of University of Jordan
. This was followed by new programs at hospitals of the Ministry of Health, the Royal Medical Services, JUST University Hospital
, and more recently, in some private hospitals.
Access to postgraduate medical and surgical training programs is through an entrance examination, performed at specific training centers, accredited by the Jordanian Medical Council (JMC). The training duration varies among the specialties, ranging between 3–6 years, and the trainees are evaluated on a yearly basis. In order to qualify as specialists, the trainees must pass the JMC competency assessment at the end of the program.
At the present time, postgraduate research education, such as a PhD program, is absent in Jordanian medical schools, rendering medical research a rather weak point, even though Jordan has been ranked as having the highest number of researchers in research and development
per million people among all the 57 countries members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC. In Jordan there are 2,000 researchers per million people, while the average among the members of OIC is 500 researchers per million people. This means that the number of researchers per population in Jordan, is higher than Italy, Israel and Greece and just close to the number in United kingdom and Ireland.
MBBS
MBBS was a popular BBS system in the Nordic countries during the mid-1990s. It was created by a team of Oslo-based enthusiasts, led by Mike Robertson. As many BBS systems of that era, it was only available for the DOS platform. Since one process could only handle one node, multitaskers such as...
) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from entry-level training through to continuing education of qualified specialists.
The history of Jordanian medical education
Medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or additional training thereafter ....
and its current status are shown below, as well as an outline of the infrastructure, admission system, curricula and academia of Jordanian medical schools.
History
Undergraduate medical education in JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
started in 1972 with the establishment of the first medical school in The University of Jordan
University of Jordan
The University of Jordan , is a government-supported University located in Amman, Jordan...
(JU). The increasing demand for undergraduate medical studies created a motivation for additional medical schools, and a second medical school was established in Yarmouk University
Yarmouk University
Yarmouk University is a university in Jordan. It was established in 1976. Located in the northern town of Irbid, it has a student body of roughly 31,000.The university has several international partnerships with overseas universities...
at the northern city of Irbid
Irbid
Irbid , known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela , is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 660,000, and is located about 70 km north of Amman on the northern ridge of...
in 1984; the university then branched out into Jordan University of Science and Technology
Jordan University of Science and Technology
The Jordan University of Science and Technology , often abbreviated JUST, is a comprehensive, state-supported university located on the outskirts of Irbid at Ar Ramtha region, in northern Jordan....
(JUST) in 1986. A third medical school was founded in 2001 in Mutah University
Mutah University
Mu’tah University is located in Kerak Governorate in Jordan, it was founded on 22 March 1981 by Royal Decree, to be a national institution for military and civilian higher education.-Academics:...
(MU), situated in the southern city of Karak
Al Karak
Karak is a city in Jordan that is known for the famous crusader castle Kerak. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria...
. Finally, in 2006, a fourth medical school was established in the central region of the country at Zarka within the Hashemite University
Hashemite University
The Hashemite University is a university in Zarqa, Jordan. It is named after the Jordanian royal family — the Hashemites — and was established by royal decree in 1992.- History :...
(HU). All of the medical schools, to date, have been established in public universities; there are no existing private medical schools. Graduates from Jordanian medical schools currently play an important role in the development of the country’s healthcare system. Moreover, the Jordanian medical education system is one of the most highly regarded in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and therefore many students from the region study medicine in Jordan. The country is ranked by the World Bank to be the number one health-care services provider in the region and among the top five in the world.
| Name of the Institution | Year of Institution Establishment | Year of Medical School Establishment |
|---|---|---|
| University of Jordan University of Jordan The University of Jordan , is a government-supported University located in Amman, Jordan... (JU) |
1962 | 1972 |
| Jordan University of Science and Technology Jordan University of Science and Technology The Jordan University of Science and Technology , often abbreviated JUST, is a comprehensive, state-supported university located on the outskirts of Irbid at Ar Ramtha region, in northern Jordan.... (JUST) |
1986 | 1984 |
| Mutah University Mutah University Mu’tah University is located in Kerak Governorate in Jordan, it was founded on 22 March 1981 by Royal Decree, to be a national institution for military and civilian higher education.-Academics:... (MU) |
1981 | 2001 |
| Hashemite University Hashemite University The Hashemite University is a university in Zarqa, Jordan. It is named after the Jordanian royal family — the Hashemites — and was established by royal decree in 1992.- History :... (HU) |
1995 | 2006 |
Admission to medical school
As in most Arab countries, the sole admission criterion in Jordanian medical schools is the achievement of a satisfactory mark in the national exam for high school students, the TawjihiTawjihi
Tawjihi is the general secondary examination in Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, part of education in Jordan and education in Palestine.Upon graduation, the ministry of Higher Education, through a system similar to that of the United Kingdom tariff points, transforms the Grades/Marks of these foreign...
. This form of admission system is supported by the majority of the society, who sees in it a mean of guaranteeing equal chances of accessing medical education for all. Medical schools’ admissions are further regulated by two different systems:
- The General Competition (applied in 1972);
- The Parallel System (in operation since 1997).
Students with the highest marks in the national high school exams gain admission through the General Competition System. The extremely low percentage of accepted applications, only 6%, is indicative of the high level of competition in order to gain access to the medical schools. Students admitted through this General Competition pathway are rewarded with partially subsidized, inexpensive tuition fees. Currently, 52% of students’ admissions are in this category.
Non-resident international applicants and Jordanian students with lower high school marks can still gain access to medical education by paying more expensive international tuition fees (The Parallel System). The minimum requirement for these students is a high school mark of at least 85%. The Parallel Admission System was established as an answer to the increasingly poor financial situation within the medical schools.
In Jordan, three out of the four medical schools give admission to less than 200 students per year; these numbers resemble those of some universities in industrialized countries such as the USA and Europe; most of the medical schools in Europe give admission to less than 200 students per year (53.4%) (Patricio 1999), while in the USA the average number of admissions per school is of 132 in public universities and 127 in private ones (Barzansky & Etzel 2005). During the academic year of 2006–2007, there were 4095 medical students registered in all Jordanian medical schools, many of them from international countries of 29 different nationalities, all of which credit Jordanian medical education within their own country. The number of female students (35.1%) is slightly lower than in most Western countries.
The Curricula
The 6-year medical education program in Jordanian universities is divided into an initial 3-year pre-clinical stage followed by a period of clinical training lasting a further 3 years. All of the medical schools in the country have adopted semi-integrated curricula, which involve integrated teaching during the pre-clinical stage and traditional teaching during the clinical stage. Even though the overall curricula of Jordanian medical schools are similar to those in European universities (Dusek & Bates 2003), there are modifications and differences between the four schools rendering it difficult for students to change faculty during their studies.The credibility of the Jordanian medical degrees is confirmed by the success rate of its graduates in the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) for specialty access to the USA (Unpublished data provided by the FAIMER, 2007). Between 2002 and 2006, 92.52% of the Jordanian graduates presenting to the USMLE step 1 (basic medical sciences) passed the exam on their first attempt and 93.62% the step 2 (clinical sciences).
The Pre-Clinical Stage
The courses at this stage are divided into basic sciences, basic medical sciences and university requirement courses (free choice credits lectured in non-medical departments). The integrated system pre-clinical phase requires that the students are assessed at the end of each course by a series of multiple-choice examinations. This integrated system has only been operational for the last 8 years since 2002, and its success has only been partially assessed, (Bani-Hani et al. 2003), and needs to be subject of a more thorough and comprehensive evaluation in the future. Accordingly, the Jordanian Ministry of Higher EducationMinistry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Jordan)
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is the government body that is responsible for maintaining and implementing government policies in higher education in Jordan...
has established a National Committee for standards and accreditation to carry out this quality assessment.
The Clinical Stage
Clerkship rotations start at the beginning of the fourth academic year and continue throughout the final 3 years. During this stage, rotations take place in different clinical units, with mandatory rotations in certain departments. The length of these rotations ranges between 2 and 12 weeks. During these rotations, students work under the supervision of a senior physician, and are responsible for interviewing and examining patients at admission, and following them during hospitalization. Students are expected to learn the techniques of history taking and physical examination. At the end of each rotation, they are assessed by the supervisors, taking into account bothbehavioral criteria (attendance and relationship with staff and patient) and the quality of their clinical work.
In all Jordanian medical schools, assessments at this stage consist of multiple choice questions (MCQ), patient management problems and oral examination. In addition to the other forms of assessment, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were introduced at The University of Jordan
University of Jordan
The University of Jordan , is a government-supported University located in Amman, Jordan...
(JU) IN 2007.
At the end of the 6th year, students are assessed by a comprehensive theoretical assessment of mainly written examinations, and a clinical assessment conducted by committees composed of faculty teaching staff, national external examiners from different Jordanian medical schools, and external examiners from Arab and western universities. The Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(MBBS) degree is awarded to the students who pass both assessments.
Postgraduate Medical Education
Postgraduate medical education in Jordan is orientated towards the attainment of specialty degrees in all the major clinical specialties and follows a similar system to those in Europe and North America. The quality of these degrees is well recognized, both in the region and internationally, which has a subsequent negative effect of the retention of trained staff within Jordan. Initially, only partial training programs (2–3 years only) were established in 1968 at the Royal Medical Service (Military Health Care System) and some hospitals of the Ministry of Health. This resulted in residents having to be sent abroad to complete their training and obtain their specialty degree from other countries.In 1982, the Jordan Medical Council (JMC) was created to control the practice of medical specialties in the country, and the first complete residency program was established at the University Hospital of University of Jordan
University of Jordan
The University of Jordan , is a government-supported University located in Amman, Jordan...
. This was followed by new programs at hospitals of the Ministry of Health, the Royal Medical Services, JUST University Hospital
King Abdullah University Hospital
King Abdullah University Hospital , often abbreviated KAUH, is a hospital near Ar Ramtha, Jordan. It largest medical structure in the north of the country, serving the approximately one million inhabitants of the Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash, and Mafraq governorates...
, and more recently, in some private hospitals.
Access to postgraduate medical and surgical training programs is through an entrance examination, performed at specific training centers, accredited by the Jordanian Medical Council (JMC). The training duration varies among the specialties, ranging between 3–6 years, and the trainees are evaluated on a yearly basis. In order to qualify as specialists, the trainees must pass the JMC competency assessment at the end of the program.
At the present time, postgraduate research education, such as a PhD program, is absent in Jordanian medical schools, rendering medical research a rather weak point, even though Jordan has been ranked as having the highest number of researchers in research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
per million people among all the 57 countries members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC. In Jordan there are 2,000 researchers per million people, while the average among the members of OIC is 500 researchers per million people. This means that the number of researchers per population in Jordan, is higher than Italy, Israel and Greece and just close to the number in United kingdom and Ireland.