A Case Study Optimizing Human Resources in Rwanda’s First Dental School: Three Innovative Management Tools
Abstract
Harvard School of Dental Medicine, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and the University of Rwanda (UR) are collaborating to create Rwanda's first School of Dentistry as part of the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Rwanda initiative that aims to strengthen the health care system of Rwanda. The HRH oral health team developed three management tools to measure progress in systems-strengthening efforts: 1) the road map is an operations plan for the entire dental school and facilitates delivery of the curriculum and management of human and material resources; 2) each HRH U.S. faculty member develops a work plan with targeted deliverables for his or her rotation, which is facilitated with biweekly flash reports that measure progress and keep the faculty member focused on his or her specific deliverables; and 3) the redesigned HRH twinning model, changed from twinning of an HRH faculty member with a single Rwandan faculty member to twinning with multiple Rwandan faculty members based on shared academic interests and goals, has improved efficiency, heightened engagement of the UR dental faculty, and increased the impact of HRH U.S. faculty members. These new tools enable the team to measure its progress toward the collaborative's goals and understand the successes and challenges in moving toward the planned targets. The tools have been valuable instruments in fostering discussion around priorities and deployment of resources as well as in developing strong relationships, enabling two-way exchange of knowledge, and promoting sustainability.
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Several African states have started initiatives to shift the paradigm with successful examples of expansion and use of mid-level providers.
“several African states have started initiatives to shift the paradigm with successful examples of expansion and use of mid-level providers [7,28,29,30,31].”
From Oral health workforce in Africa: a scarce resource (2023) · cites this paper as [29]
The role of mid-level providers in delivering healthcare generally has been advocated for the WHO African Region, embraced by Rwanda, and explored in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Malawi.
“The role of mid-level providers in delivering healthcare generally has been advocated for the AFR [5], embraced by countries such as Rwanda [29,30], and being explored in Sierra Leone [7,31], Tanzania [36], and Malawi [37] in line with workforce research and guidance [11,38].”
From Oral health workforce in Africa: a scarce resource (2023) · cites this paper as [29]
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- Authors
- Hackley, D. M., Mumena, C. H., Gatarayiha, A., Cancedda, C., & Barrow, J. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Rwanda (RW)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hackley, Donna M.
- Venue
- Journal of Dental Education
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-06
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 602-607
- ISSN
- 0022-0337 (ISSN-L)
- 1930-7837
- OpenAlex
- W2804546045
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Dental Education (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Health and Surgery
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Keywords
- human resources for health, Rwanda, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, University of Rwanda, faculty development, progress measurement, international cooperation, dental workforce, systems strengthening, sustainability
- MeSH terms
- Workforce, Curriculum, Education, Dental, Rwanda, Schools, Dental
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