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CC BY 4.0 · Avicenna J Med
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811693
Original Article

Reforming Graduate Medical Education in Syria: A Strategic Framework for Post-Conflict Recovery

Authors

  • Oase Sbei 

    1   Department of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Amjad Rass

    2   Syrian American Medical Society Institute, Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Abd Arrahman Alomar

    2   Syrian American Medical Society Institute, Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Ahmed Muhbeddine

    2   Syrian American Medical Society Institute, Detroit, Michigan, United States

  • Abdulghani Sankari

    1   Department of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, United States
    3   Henry Ford Health Providence Hospital, Southfield, Michigan, United States

Funding None.
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Abstract

Background

More than a decade of armed conflict has devastated Syria's healthcare system, severely disrupting graduate medical education (GME) across the country. Damage to teaching hospitals, displacement of faculty, and fragmented oversight have contributed to deteriorating educational standards and a growing physician shortage. As Syria transitions into a post-conflict recovery phase, reforming its GME system is a national and global priority.

Objective

This white paper aims to evaluate the current state of GME in Syria and propose a strategic framework for rebuilding a standardized, sustainable, and internationally aligned system through stakeholder engagement, data collection, and comparative analysis.

Methods

In February 2025, the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) conducted workshops in Damascus and Aleppo involving over 45 stakeholders, including teaching hospital directors, medical educators, and diaspora physicians. A pre-workshop survey assessed program structure, oversight, curricula, evaluation methods, and infrastructure across 21 institutions. Workshop discussions were informed by a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and global best practices from countries including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

Results

Findings revealed wide variability in program oversight, clinical training quality, evaluation standards, and faculty support. Only 57% of institutions reported having formal curricula, while 81% conducted some form of trainee evaluation. Common challenges included inadequate financial support, lack of standardized accreditation, insufficient faculty development, and limited research access. Recommendations from the workshops included the creation of a national accreditation council, modernization of curricula, investment in faculty training, development of centers of excellence, and integration of online education and 25 continuing medical education.

Conclusion

Reforming Syria's GME system requires coordinated, multilevel efforts to implement competency-based education, establish independent regulatory bodies, and align training programs with global standards. The phased framework presented here offers actionable steps to rebuild Syria's medical education infrastructure and train a resilient health workforce capable of addressing both national and regional healthcare needs.

Keywords

Syria - graduate medical education - post-conflict recovery - medical training - accreditation - curriculum reform - healthcare workforce - medical education reform

Authors' Contributions

O.S.: Manuscript writing and detailed survey analysis.

A.S.: Workshop coordination and manuscript review.

A.A.A.: Workshop coordination, participation, and manuscript review.

A.M.: Workshop coordination and manuscript review.

A.S.: Workshop presentation, survey development, and manuscript review.


Ethical Statement

This work complies with ethical standards and aligns with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was not required as no patient-identifying data were collected or analyzed.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Article published online:
26 September 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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