Researchers analyzed 168 portfolio entries submitted before program modules and 167 submitted afterward, together with two semi-structured interviews with each participant. The repeated, module-level portfolio data covered the full cohort. The analysis combined inductive coding with sensitizing concepts from faculty development and workplace learning. Participant-level longitudinal matrices compared heterogeneous starting points, changes and continuities, institutional conditions, positional authority and transnational comparisons, while a cross-case analysis examined variation by country, professional role and previous faculty development experience.

Participants entered the program with different understandings of teaching. Some primarily associated it with lecturing and assessment, whereas others already had substantial experience with curriculum reform and organizational constraints. The first reported process broadened or systematized educational frames by connecting classroom teaching with curriculum, assessment, accreditation and institutional systems. For some participants, the program linked classroom instruction to these wider structures; for others, it systematized educational ideas they already held. These findings concern how participants described and interpreted their learning, not measured changes in student learning, clinical competence or institutional performance.

The second process involved specifying the conditions attached to particular teaching or learning practices. Participants identified preparation time, class size, facilitators, facilities, budget, workload and faculty agreement as relevant conditions. Their accounts therefore placed educational practices within resource, staffing and organizational settings rather than treating them as context-free techniques. The third process was calibration to positional authority. Participants distinguished changes they could make in their own teaching from modifications requiring departmental support and changes dependent on institutional or policy decisions. The analysis identifies intended actions and perceived constraints, not completed reforms or evidence that the program caused later workplace behavior.

Interaction among participants from Laos and Vietnam provided an additional interpretive resource through horizontal peer comparison. Educators encountered colleagues with different national and institutional circumstances, offering regional reference points alongside host-home comparison. This interaction sometimes revised assumptions, while English sometimes constrained participation. Overall, the study shows that faculty development learning was not treated as a uniform package carried unchanged from one institutional setting to another. Instead, participants interpreted it through broadening, specifying and calibrating, with peer comparison contributing another reference frame. Because the evidence comes from a small, bounded cohort and relies on portfolios, interviews and qualitative analysis, the study does not establish causal effects or predict implementation and institutional change after the program.

Subject of Research: Longitudinal qualitative research on faculty development learning among health professions educators in Laos and Vietnam

Article Title: Recontextualizing faculty development learning: a longitudinal qualitative study of educators from Laos and Vietnam

Article References: Lee, Y., Lee, S.-H., & Na, S.-H. (2026). Recontextualizing faculty development learning: a longitudinal qualitative study of educators from Laos and Vietnam. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10183-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10183-0

Keywords: faculty development, health professions education, Laos, Vietnam, workplace learning, qualitative study, curriculum reform, transnational education, peer comparison, professional learning, Recontextualizing, faculty

The review examined international partnerships in health professions education, identified in the study as a form of transnational education. Its aims were to map existing literature on stakeholder experiences and outcomes, identify factors influencing implementation and sustainability, and assess the available evidence. Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and reporting under the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the researchers initially identified 823 records. Two reviewers independently screened studies for eligibility, while the primary reviewer extracted and charted the data for review by the research team. Methodological quality was appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The final evidence base included 13 qualitative studies, three mixed-methods studies and one quantitative study.

Across the included literature, graduates of transnational programmes were reported to be more prepared for work in health systems, to undergo changes in their professional identity, and to contribute to workforce capacity. These are associations drawn from the reviewed studies, not findings from a single comparative trial or a pooled estimate of effect. The predominance of qualitative designs means that much of the evidence consists of accounts and interpretations reported in the original research. With only 17 studies included, the synthesis is best understood as a map of the research literature and the themes that emerge across it, rather than a precise estimate of how much any partnership improves outcomes in all settings.

The analysis identified four interrelated themes. The first addressed the contextualisation and sustainability of partnerships, including the importance of responding to institutional and sociocultural contexts. The second concerned support for graduates’ transition to practice and their career outcomes. The third focused on professional identity transformation and developmental outcomes. The fourth covered quality assurance and power dynamics within international collaborations. Across these themes, the reviewed research suggests that international education is shaped not only by whether a partnership is established but also by the conditions surrounding curriculum design, institutional support, governance and implementation.

The authors conclude that international partnerships in health professions education can enhance access to education and contribute to developing a globally competent health workforce. They also identify a central design tension between standardisation and local responsiveness. The review’s findings support curriculum adaptation that remains sensitive to local conditions, while also requiring collaborative governance and quality-assurance mechanisms. The evidence does not identify a single approach that is optimal in every context, nor does it establish the long-term effects of transnational education on patient care. The authors therefore call for further research on sustained workforce outcomes and patient-care effects, as well as on staff-development and international-collaboration models designed to be sustainable. Overall, the review portrays transnational health education as a pathway that can support graduate readiness, professional development and workforce capacity, while making clear that the strength and durability of those contributions depend on how partnerships are adapted, supported and governed.

Subject of Research: Stakeholder experiences and outcomes in international health professions education partnerships

Article Title: International partnerships in health professions education: a scoping review of stakeholder experiences and outcomes

Article References: Yousif, G., Conen, S., Hart, J., & Byrne-Davis, L. (2026). International partnerships in health professions education: a scoping review of stakeholder experiences and outcomes. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10258-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10258-y

Keywords: health professions education, transnational education, international partnerships, scoping review, graduate preparedness, professional identity, workforce capacity, curriculum adaptation, quality assurance, collaborative governance, International, partnerships