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MSF Academy for Healthcare How MSF uses mentoring to support its field staff and provide better quality healthcare 

How MSF uses mentoring to support its field staff and provide better quality healthcare 

November 2024

A Community Health Officer checking on a patient at the IPD in Kenema Hospital, being observed by his MSF Academy clinical mentor, David, during a mentoring session at the patient’s bedside

Providing quality healthcare for the patient is at the core of Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) actions. Since MSF operates in many low-resource settings, and with most of its healthcare staff hired locally, it invests in the continuous professional development of its workforce.  

It is in this context that the MSF Academy for Healthcare was created, to offer long-term learning programmes specifically designed around MSF’s needs in the field, focusing on specific healthcare professions. Through these initiatives, MSF healthcare workers who, in many cases, didn’t have access to specialised practical education, gain knowledge and skills with the support of personalised clinical mentoring, directly in their workplace. The ultimate goal is to deliver better patient care and therefore have a deeper impact in the communities where MSF is present, both by offering better quality services and by building a better trained local healthcare workforce.  

Clinical mentor Jacob demonstrating a nursing procedure to a learner during a skills lab session

A comprehensive pedagogical approach 

The creation of a learning programme at the MSF Academy for Healthcare begins with a needs assessment to identify gaps in knowledge, practice and behaviour among a certain group of staff, and which training programme would target those gaps. By engaging in conversations with the relevant stakeholders across MSF, the goal is to capture the real, on-the-ground challenges the staff faces in the unique contexts in which MSF operates. The learning programmes are competency-based: they are built around the skills required for specific job roles. 

Once these needs are identified, the Academy creates a curriculum based on the competencies identified, with theoretical material and pedagogical activities that form the backbone of the training. This is always the result of a collaborative effort involving different experts in the topic with extensive MSF experience.  

Training sessions go beyond traditional lectures; they immerse learners in hands-on practice and real-life simulations using manikins and medical equipment, case studies, role plays or scenarios that mimic the situations they face in the field. This method bridges the critical gap between knowledge and practice, ensuring that health workers not only become more knowledgeable but also more capable of applying their skills under pressure.  

The most important thing about being a clinical mentor is passion. I’ve held several positions at MSF, notably as a nurse supervisor, where I organised training in my own way. When I started mentoring with MSF, my professional life gained a new dimension. The teaching approach at the MSF Academy is very different from that at my school. It’s practical, with personalised follow-up… it’s what I dreamed of when I was a student, learning in this way.

David Ngayizeye, clinical mentor in Mali 

Mentoring and tutoring: the tool to transfer learning into practice

Clinical mentors and tutors play a pivotal role in the MSF Academy for Healthcare’s learning programmes. They facilitate theoretical sessions where they implement pedagogical activities and, most importantly, they provide individualised, continuous, real-time support to learners through clinical mentoring and tutoring.  

MSF Academy staff Solange doing clinical mentoring with a learner and his learning companion in Sica Hospital, Bangui, CAR.

In hospitals and health centres, clinical mentoring occurs right at the patient’s bedside or during consultations. Nurses, midwives and consultation providers participating in the training programmes are observed by their mentors, who provide feedback and support tailored to the specific skills and competencies they need to develop. On the other hand, the MSF Academy offers online mentoring and tutoring for participants in hybrid or online learning programmes. Learners are supported by their mentors throughout the full length of the training programme, building a relationship that enhances their competencies and behaviours in a safe and supportive environment. They define a learning plan together, use real work scenarios as learning opportunities, discuss challenges related to their daily activities and look for solutions. The goal is to help the learners transfer their new knowledge, skills and competencies into their daily practice. 

If learners don’t have support and don’t practice, they forget. When you do something and look in the mirror, you know whether you’re doing it correctly; with the Academy, the mentor acts as a mirror. When I’m used to performing a nursing procedure and there’s no one to correct me, I continue to do it in the same way. But when there’s someone observing me and helping me recognise both my mistakes and what I’m doing well, it’s like watching myself in a mirror. It’s like being filmed, then watching yourself and realising your mistakes and your successes.

Olivier Mbacko Lawann, clinical mentor in Central African Republic 

Mentors are also essential in fostering motivation. Because learners combine their training with work and personal responsibilities, maintaining high engagement levels can become challenging for some. Mentors monitor the motivation and attendance of all learners and, when necessary, find tailored solutions that ease their participation, such as adapting the schedule of the mentoring or organising catch-up sessions.  

Mentors and tutors also receive support from the MSF Academy through specialised training courses and workshops designed to enhance their facilitation and mentoring skills. The goal is to build their competencies and ensure they are confident and effective in their roles, as well as able to build a safe learning environment for the participants. 

Debriefing session after bedside clinical mentoring, with clinical mentor Jacob and a learner, in Malakal, South Sudan

Adaptability and continuous improvement  

A key feature of the MSF Academy for Healthcare’s approach is its adaptability to the diverse needs of the learners. Training contents are often adapted to the specific context where they are implemented, focusing on topics that are more needed by the learners. Facilitators are encouraged to tailor session plans to the specific levels and backgrounds of the participants.  

The training content is not static; it evolves with the latest medical guidelines and MSF protocols, and the pedagogical tools are as well continuously improved to respond to the learners and the mentors’ needs and feedback. This ongoing revision, as well as the evaluations conducted on the impact of the programmes, ensure that the learning initiatives remain current and effective. 

Classroom session with participants of the Basic Clinical Nursing Care programme of the MSF Academy for Healthcare, facilitated by clinical mentor Gatluak in Malakal, South Sudan

Contributing to continuous improvement of healthcare quality through mentoring and work-based learning 

In the last five years, more than 1000 healthcare staff have completed one of the training programmes organised by the MSF Academy for Healthcare. Today, 64 mentors and tutors support more than 990 learners across the world.  

By identifying specific learning needs, developing competency-based programmes, implementing practical work-based pedagogical activities, and providing individual support through clinical mentoring, MSF ensures that healthcare staff is not only well equipped but also feels more confident and engaged. The goal is that this commitment to continuous professional development impacts the quality of care patients receive and strengthens the overall healthcare infrastructure within the communities that MSF serves.  

In a survey we conducted on the programme’s impact, participants rated individual mentoring sessions as the most impactful activity. The survey also showed successful implementation of AMR-related activities after the training, such as creating action plans, forming committees, and conducting audits. Participants reported increased confidence in implementing these activities, and I feel proud when they share feedback on their progress, tell me about the actions they have implemented, and thank us for the support.

Jinane Khraibani, clinical mentor (online, based in Lebanon) 

MSF Academy for Healthcare clinical mentoring session with mentor Stephen during an outpatient care consultation with a 1-year old child with malaria at Kpandebu Community Health Centre
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