Perceived impact of advanced clinical skill Building program for women’s health: a retrospective review of a public-private partnership model

A Public-Private Partnership is commonly defined as a mutual partnership agreement between a public-serving organization and a private organization to strengthen capacity for either a singular need or aimed at larger systems strengthening. In Pakistan, several healthcare initiatives are planned to scale systems strengthening using this model, but there is a dearth of programs to support the women’s health workforce capacity. Although the volume of patients is high in public sector organizations, they have limited opportunities to develop their advanced clinical skills. This study aims to explore the perceived impact of a one-year hybrid advanced clinical skill-building program based in three women’s healthcare subspecialities, including Maternal Fatal Medicine, Gynaeoncology, and Urogynaecology, for public sector AMC clinical faculty under the mentorship of private AMC faculty. Program evaluation was done using an observational study design to explore the program’s percieved impact and effectiveness, compare perceived competency scores, and gauge the experiences of the participants. The data was collected as part of their training using structured Google Forms, which had questions customized to explore the program’s effectiveness, with the written information that it will be used for scholarly and research purposes. All participants perceived the positive impact of the program on their clinical skills for detecting and treating cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, vulvar, and cervical cancer. They reported themselves as proficient in performing procedures like slings of SUI, Sacrospinous Fixation, Abdominal Sacropexy, and fistula repair. Overall, participants perceived that the program enhanced their skills pertinent to their subspeciality, acquired new knowledge, and found clinical mentorship supportive in applying theoretical concepts into practical skills. This evidence showed a positive impact on subspeciality skills on women’s health management and knowledge of the participants enrolled in the program, highlighting the importance of Public-Private Partnership models for workforce capacity development. This could be one of the models if adapted in Pakistan and other lower-middle-income countries, that can yield benefits in bridging the skills enhancement gap that exists in the women’s health fraternity. However, the small sample size and self-reported data may limit the generalizability of the study’s findings, despite showing a model that can be adapted, implemented, and large-scale and longitudinal studies can also be planned around the same.