Faculty development program precedes Caribbean medical school opening

From left to right: Eddy Perez Then of the O&M Steering Committee, Lynn Eckhert, O&M president Jose Abinader, Connie Bowe, and Jorge Martes.

Dominican University of Organization & Methods (O&M) hosted two HMI faculty for a two-day faculty development program in July. The program, a precursor to the opening, next year, of a new, state-of-the-art medical school in the Dominican Republic, outlined the university’s objectives and aimed to energize participants to join in the establishment of the medical school.

The highly collaborative faculty development program, held in the capital Santo Domingo, was led by Lynn Eckhert, MD, MPH, DrPH, HMI director of academic programsand Connie Bowe, senior consultant for HMI. More than two dozen members of O&M’s core faculty, encompassing a broad range of experience in clinical teaching and research, participated. The program’s activities included reviewing a blueprint for the curriculum, discussing strategies for the recruitment of the ideal student, and preparing faculty to be role models, advisors, and assessors in the launch of the school.

“We were very pleased with the great attendance and enthusiastic participation, especially in the work groups,” Bowe said. “O&M has set a very rigorous timetable for themselves and we are very eager to see the results.”

O&M is the largest private university in the country, with campuses spread throughout all major cities in the Dominican Republic. The school’s medical school leadership, who took part in a leadership program offered by the Harvard Macy Institute in 2005, have established three commissions to head the efforts in admissions, curriculum, and faculty recruitment. O&M has also encouraged faculty to take part in specific aspects of the planning process. Having defined admissions criteria and established a final curriculum, executive director Jorge Marte said that finalizing a first-year faculty, as well as addressing information technology needs for student recruitment, are main priorities in the coming months.

“It has been a remarkable relationship,” Marte said of the HMI-O&M partnership. “We have learned a great deal about medical education both personally and institutionally, every step of the way.”

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