ABSTRACT
As a result of the shifts in demographics, developments in medical technology, and evolving academic standards and policies in the last two decades, the training of health care professionals have also changed significantly. The structure, content, and delivery of health care education continue to grow as medical technology improves and learning and instruction are better understood. Today, the entry-level education for optometrists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists in a few countries (the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Pakistan) are at the doctoral level, like physicians and dentists. This chapter discusses the global history of medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy, and physiotherapy education, the emerging and changing educational landscape, including instructional methods, the accreditation process, and benchmarking institutional academic quality and efficiency. It also discussed the impact of corruption on health care education and faculty salaries in selected countries worldwide. Although health care education is diverse, there are several similarities in their origin, curriculum pattern, training resource needs and utilization, and postprofessional licensure requirements. The issues presented in this chapter cut across regional boundaries and academic disciplines and lay the foundation for the topical issues presented in this book.
