The establishment and roles of the Medical Education Department in the faculty of Medicine, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Medical Education departments oversee the process of medicaleducation in medical schools and provide many educationalservices to support, evaluate and thus enhance the educationalrole of the medical school. Its roles revolve around research,teaching and providing educational support in areas of curriculumdevelopment and assessment. This paper provides a brief summaryon the emergence of different medical education centers/units/departments around the world from a historical perspective.Special attention will be given to the process followed inestablishing the Medical Education Department (MED) in KingAbdul Aziz University (KAU). This paper also explores the rolesthat are currently played within the department with a reflectionon documented roles of the medical education departmentsworldwide. Special emphasis will be given to explore the currentchallenges faced by KAU MED and proposed suggestions toimprove these challenges will also be addressed.

Keywords

• Medical Education Department
• Role of Medical Education
• Research
• Saudi Arabia