ANQA launched another course of the "Students’ Voice" project for the preparation of student experts. Participating students are from the following medical education institutions:
- University of Traditional Medicine
- Armenian Medical Institute
- Yerevan State Basic Medical College
During the meeting with ANQA Director Ruben Topchyan, the discussion revolved around the peculiarities of the organization of medical education and the role of the quality assurance system in the credible award of qualifications.
The meeting also focused on the peculiarities of organizing internships:
- What types of assignments do students need to develop professional hands-on skills?
- Is the number of practical assignments sufficient to develop a specific professional skill during the course of study?
- How can medical research be structured to give students opportunities for more experimentation and encourage them to explore alternative approaches to their work?
In the second part of the meeting, Meri Barseghyan, project’s coordinator, introduced the students to the peculiarities of accreditation, which is a mutual learning process for the education institution under accreditation and the expert panel.
It should be noted that ANQA has been training student experts since 2011, with the aim of involving them in the accreditation processes of educational institutions and spreading the quality assurance culture among students. This time, it is planned to tailor the training programme to align with the medical students’ educational background. They will explore a medical education institution’s self-evaluation, carry out a desk review and engage in roleplays to prepare for site visits. The high-performing student experts will be included in the medical education institutions’ accreditation processes.