Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2026
Hour: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. (EST)
Register here
Strengthening teaching capacities is essential to improving the quality of health workforce education and responding to the current challenges facing health systems in the Americas. In this context, the Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) has promoted, since 2023, a regional initiative to define and advance teaching competencies oriented to public health education.
Through a participatory process involving experts, academic institutions, and organizations across the Region, a public health teaching competency framework was developed, identifying key capacities for designing, facilitating, and evaluating quality educational experiences. During 2024, an initial self-assessment tool based on this competency framework was designed and piloted. The results made it possible to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, while also generating evidence to refine both the competency model and the assessment instrument.
In 2026, taking into account the evolution of educational modalities, the growing incorporation of digital technologies, and the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and learning processes, the VCPH and its strategic partners updated the competency framework and developed a new version of the self-assessment tool, accompanied by a dedicated space within the Virtual Campus to facilitate its implementation.
The pilot results showed that competencies related to communication, leadership, and digital skills remain priority areas for strengthening. In response, the VCPH has been consolidating a teaching support offering that includes open educational resources, guidance for innovative online teaching, an annotated bibliographic repository on online education, and new training initiatives, including a program on the use of artificial intelligence for public health teaching.
This webinar provides an opportunity to present these advances, promote the use of the new self-assessment tool, and discuss current challenges in faculty development for public health.
To present the updated framework of teaching competencies in public health and the new self-assessment tool, while fostering dialogue on strategies to strengthen faculty professional development in the context of the digital transformation of education.
- Present the results of the public health teaching competencies update process.
- Introduce the new self-assessment tool and the modalities available through the VCPH.
- Share experiences and resources to strengthen priority competencies, particularly in communication, leadership, and digital competencies.
- Disseminate continuing education and teaching support initiatives promoted by the VCPH and its collaborating institutions.
- Strengthen collaboration among partner institutions committed to developing teaching capacities in public health.
10:00 - 10:10
Welcome Remarks
- Gabriel Listovsky, Head of the Program Virtual Campus for Public Health, PAHO
- James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services, PAHO
10:10 - 10:35
Update of Public Health Teaching Competencies and Presentation of the New Self-Assessment Tool
Moderator: Yohana Díaz de Valle, Advisor, Professional Education, Health Workforce Unit, PAHO
- Development context of the Public Health Teaching Competency Framework. Laura Magaña, ASPPH President
- Technical presentation of the updated competency framework. Gladys Skoumal, International Consultant, Virtual Campus for Public Health
- Demonstration of the self-assessment environment and usage modalities. Cynthia Rosas Magallanes, International Consultant, Virtual Campus for Public Health
10:35 - 11:25
Teaching Competencies for Current Challenges in Public Health Education
Moderator: Gabriel Listovsky, Head of the Program Virtual Campus for Public Health, PAHO
- Leadership and communication for transformative teaching: Juciano Lacerda and Aline de Pinho Dias, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre on Innovation in Virtual Education for Health, at the Technological Innovation in Health Laboratory (LAIS), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Brazil.
- Lifelong learning and faculty professional development: presentation of continuing education resources and the specialized bibliographic repository. Marcelo García Diéguez Center for Studies in Health Professions Education (CEEProS), National University of the South (UNS), Argentina (CEEProS-UNS)
- Artificial intelligence and new teaching competencies: presentation of the training initiative under development with ASPPH on AI for public health faculty. TBD
- Towards faculty development pathways and recognition: perspectives on learning pathways, microcredentials, and competency recognition mechanisms. TBD
11:25 - 11:30
Closing and Next Steps
Gabriel Listovsky, Head of the Program Virtual Campus for Public Health, PAHO
- Invitation to use the self-assessment tool
- Presentation of faculty development opportunities available through the VCPH
- Upcoming training activities