The program will offer specialist fellowship training in general paediatrics and child health in the region. The training shall be competency-based. Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) is an outcome-based educational model, emphasizing the demonstration of competence in key skills and abilities deemed essential for current and future practice, and de-emphasizing time. Trainees are assessed continually, with a preference for direct observation. Feedback is timely, frequent, and constructive, and therefore helpful in the growth and progression of the trainees. The goal of competency-based education is to graduate competent paediatricians, align the fellowship curriculum with societal needs and expectations, and optimize patient outcomes.

The training will be offered on a full-time basis with the learner being expected to be physically present at the respective training sites within accredited healthcare facilities for all course modules during the programme. The training shall consist of interspersed periods of academic education delivered by blended learning methods and periods of practical vocational training in the workplace. As such, the training will be delivered in a variety of settings. This will allow the learner to access knowledge and skills from a wide range of settings including accredited external training sites, online learning platforms and regional training hospitals. The learner will however spend most of their time in clinical training practice at the accredited regional hospitals. Provision can be made for brief periods of external placement for purposes of knowledge, skills and experience acquisition in institutions that have a working agreement with the training hospital under the auspices of the College.

The instruction methods will integrate relevant biomedical sciences, common courses, and clinical rotation courses during the training. The course will be predominantly clinical based competence training covered through various platforms including all or some of the following:

1. Supervised clinical work, clinical teachings and tutorials, practical demonstrations, training in skills laboratory and call duties, case analysis.
2. Journal clubs, case reports, seminars, and multimedia resources.
3. Participatory and self-directed learning; assigned reading.
4. Lectures, workshops, group discussions, conferences.
5. Reflective learning – a logbook, publication (case reports, journal article, developing learning materials/practice guidelines for other health professionals).
6. Elective and selective rotations in relevant clinical areas.
7. Mentorship and guidance by clinical supervisors.
8. Open, Distance Learning and e-Learning (ODeL).
9. Postgraduate Thesis Project.

Trainees will undergo a progressively graded curriculum in basic science as well as clinical experience with increasing responsibility under supervision. This will include the development of a strong independent competency-based therapeutic approach in the management of patients while supervising the junior trainees. The learning experience will be tracked on a periodic basis through use of workplace-based assessment tools, including logbooks and written tests that will assess knowledge base, professional behavior, communication, team work, scholarship, advocacy, leadership and decision making as well as medical expertise for progression from one level of training to the next and for certification in general paediatrics and child health.