BRAC Humanitarian Play Lab Model: Promoting Healing, Learning and Development for Displaced Rohingya Children

In August 2017, almost a million Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to escape violence and persecution in Myanmar; 55 percent of them were children. BRAC, one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the world, operates an initiative called the Humanitarian Play Lab model for children ages 0-6 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. The intervention combines play-based learning with psychosocial support from para-counselors to promote positive developmental outcomes for children in crisis settings. Designed using a community-based participatory approach that promotes a sense of pride and belonging among those living in a displaced community, the play model strongly emphasizes the importance indigenous cultural practices play in healing and learning. This field note, which describes the key features of the play model, covers the period of implementation from its start in October 2017 up to December 2019. Our intended audience includes policymakers, practitioners, and other advocates for early childhood development and play who are working to promote child development and well-being in humanitarian settings. We offer this description as a case study of how providing play-based learning to children in emergency situations may help mitigate the detrimental long-term effects of displacement and trauma

Core curriculum in pathology for future Irish medical students

Pathology is important in training to become a medical doctor but as curricula become more integrated, there is a risk that key aspects of pathology may be excluded. Following a survey of the current delivery of teaching in Ireland under the auspices of the Faculty of Pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, suggested components of a core curriculum in pathology have been developed to be delivered at some stage during the medical course. These have been based on key principles and themes required by the Medical Council in Ireland. Professionalism is one of the core principles emphasised by the Medical Council. It includes the role of the pathologist in patient care and other professional values such as patient-centred care, clinical competencies and skills, e.g. explaining results, and knowledge under the various sub-disciplines, i.e. histopathology (including neuropathology), clinical microbiology, haematology, chemical pathology and immunology. In each of these, we suggest key aspects and activities that the medical graduate should be comfortable in carrying out. The methods of delivery of teaching and assessment across pathology disciplines have evolved and adapted to recent circumstances. Lessons have been learned and insights gained during the COVID-19 pandemic as educators have risen to the challenge of continuing to educate medical students. Integrated and multi-disciplinary teaching is recommended to reflect best the professional environment of the medical graduate who works as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team, with the minimum dependence on the traditional lecture, where at all possible. Finally, options on assessment are discussed, e.g. multiple-choice questions, including their respective advantages and disadvantages

Core curriculum in pathology for future Irish medical students

Pathology is important in training to become a medical doctor but as curricula become more integrated, there is a risk that key aspects of pathology may be excluded. Following a survey of the current delivery of teaching in Ireland under the auspices of the Faculty of Pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, suggested components of a core curriculum in pathology have been developed to be delivered at some stage during the medical course. These have been based on key principles and themes required by the Medical Council in Ireland. Professionalism is one of the core principles emphasised by the Medical Council. It includes the role of the pathologist in patient care and other professional values such as patient-centred care, clinical competencies and skills, e.g. explaining results, and knowledge under the various sub-disciplines, i.e. histopathology (including neuropathology), clinical microbiology, haematology, chemical pathology and immunology. In each of these, we suggest key aspects and activities that the medical graduate should be comfortable in carrying out. The methods of delivery of teaching and assessment across pathology disciplines have evolved and adapted to recent circumstances. Lessons have been learned and insights gained during the COVID-19 pandemic as educators have risen to the challenge of continuing to educate medical students. Integrated and multi-disciplinary teaching is recommended to reflect best the professional environment of the medical graduate who works as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team, with the minimum dependence on the traditional lecture, where at all possible. Finally, options on assessment are discussed, e.g. multiple-choice questions, including their respective advantages and disadvantages