New exam-prep platform empowers next generation of SA medical specialists
JOHANNESBURG, 17 SEPTEMBER 2024 – An innovative partnership between Life Healthcare and leading medical-sector associations has launched a virtual platform to support postgraduate candidates as they prepare for their examinations to become medical specialists.
The new platform, Learn@CMSA, will support candidates, boost the level of knowledge within medical and dental professions, and ultimately help to improve the health of all South Africans.
Learn@CMSA is the result of a collaboration between Life Healthcare Group, the Colleges of Medicine South Africa (CMSA) and the South African Committee of Deans (SACOMD).
The platform allows candidates to access preparatory educational material to help them succeed in their exams for the Masters of Medicine (MMED) qualification. After earning an MMED, graduates are eligible for registration as specialists by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
“This platform is a significant achievement for Life Healthcare,” says Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood. “We see it as an investment in the development of medical knowledge among our specialists and doctors, at the critical stage where specialists launch their careers.”
With their consent, Life Healthcare will also explore possible future private-practice opportunities with exam candidates who register on the learning platform.
“Through our exclusive sponsorship of Learn@CMSA, Life Healthcare is able to upscale the way we develop the pipeline of specialist and subspecialists,” said Wharton-Hood.
He said the goal of the new platform was to give all medical and dental candidates access to content to help them prepare for the relevant part I and II examinations at their respective colleges. A research module curated with UCT also offers a guide for candidates needing to do research and present dissertations to obtain their MMED.
The new platform is set to empower medical students across Sub-Saharan Africa with knowledge and exam fitness, and to advance equity across all South African training platforms.
“Equity in terms of access to learning resources remains a challenge in a country such as ours, with such diversity in training platforms,” says Prof. Dean Gopalan, Chairperson of the CMSA Education Committee. “To this end, the development of a common e-learning platform under the auspices of the CMSA is vital. We could not have done this without the immense support of Life Healthcare.”
Prof Johan Fagan, President of the CMSA thanked Life Healthcare for its support over many years in helping the CMSA run high-quality specialist examinations that represent international best practice.
“Additional support is now being employed to create an e-learning education platform for exam candidates to access preparatory educational material and to advance equity across all South African training platforms,” he said. “Such support is key to the CMSA maintaining academic standards of our diplomates, specialists and subspecialists through excellence in education and assessment.”
The Colleges of Medicine South Africa (CMSA) conducts all specialist and subspecialist examinations in South Africa. It is now expanding its role to include online preparatory educational support, and developing a peer-review journal to share research that has historically been costly for candidates to publish themselves.
The new platform includes a virtual library and is the result of two years of intensive development by Life Healthcare and the CMSA. Visit Learn@CMSA at https://cmsalearn.co.za/