From Faculty Development to Health Professions Education: A 16-year Documentary Analysis in Myanmar Military Medical Education

Faculty development programmes must adapt to changing expectations in curriculum design, assessment, educational scholarship, technology, leadership and interprofessional practice. The Diploma in Medical Education (Dip. Med. Ed.) at the Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Myanmar, provides a longitudinal example of such adaptation. In 2024, DSMA and the Military Institute of Nursing and Paramedical Sciences (MINP) combined their contributions to the programme, marking a new collaborative phase in its development. This study examined how the DSMA Dip. Med. Ed. programme changed between 2010 and 2026 and to identify the principal curricular and institutional transitions that moved it from foundational faculty development toward contemporary health professions education, including the development of DSMA-MINP collaboration from 2024. We conducted a retrospective documentary analysis using course handbooks from the first course in 2010-2011 through the 16th course handbook in 2026. A structured extraction framework examined programme aims, duration, curriculum architecture, teaching-learning strategies, educational technology, assessment, leadership, communication and professionalism, educational research, workshops and governance. The authors compared documents chronologically and synthesized recurring patterns and material changes into developmental phases. Five phases were identified: foundation and formalisation (2010-2013); consolidation of the modular faculty-development model (2014-2019); outcomes, constructive alignment and digitally supported delivery (2020-2023); DSMA-MINP collaboration and curricular expansion (2024-2025); and further curriculum modernisation (2026). The 2026 curriculum incorporated outcome-based and competency-based medical education, curriculum mapping, quality assurance and accreditation, interprofessional education, problem- and case-based learning, e-learning, simulation, artificial intelligence and AI ethics, educational governance, professionalism, research ethics and critical appraisal. The Dip. Med. Ed. retained a stable core mission while progressively broadening from teacher preparation to a more integrated health professions education programme. The combination of DSMA and MINP from 2024 and the subsequent curricular developments through 2026 represent important milestones in this transformation. Future evaluation should determine whether these intended curriculum changes translate into sustained changes in educational practice, scholarship and institutional outcomes.