Developing Higher Education Curriculum in the Health Sciences Context

Abstract

Introduction How did it happen that Professor Eli Bitzer – the educationist – ended up being involved in health professions education? Was it a matter of a trans-disciplinary approach followed by two faculties, or was it because of specific expertise needed at a specific time of development at one faculty? The answer is most probably – both. In this chapter we will attempt to demonstrate how expertise in one field of science can very successfully be transferred to another field. We will also explore the links between the field of Education where Eli Bitzer comes from, and the field of Health Sciences from which perspective this chapter is written. We do not intend to report on each and every intervention Eli Bitzer had with students, neither do we claim to be the experts in writing about someone as respected as he is. We have only focused on writing about the period between 2006 and 2016, when both of us had the privilege of working closely with him as a colleague. While the main purpose of this chapter is to describe the role Eli Bitzer played in health professions education, the second part of our chapter will pay tribute to him as a teacher, supervisor and colleague. This chapter further highlights his personal characteristics, as perceived by the health sciences community, his involvement in the establishment of an educational centre, his role in the development of a curriculum for the MPhil in Health Sciences and his contribution to postgraduate students as lecturer, mentor and supervisor.