The Health Professionals’ Competency Assessment and Licensure Directorate (HPCALD) is established in the Ministry of Health in 2017. The directorate administers a standardized licensing examination for first-degree graduates of higher education institutions to assess their competence in providing health care so as to meet the transformation agenda ‘Quality & Equity in Health Care.
Aim/Objective
- To identify professionals that possesses the minimum knowledge & skill necessary to perform tasks on the job safely and competently, not to select ‘top’ candidate.
- To issue license for professionals coming from abroad.
Mission
To protect the public through standardized assessment of all health professionals.
Vision
To see that only competent, ethical, and effective health care workers join the health workforce.
Core Values:
Professionalism
- Accountability
- Commitment
- Integrity
Confidentiality
- Collaboration
- Teamwork
- Efficiency
Team/case team/structure
The Health Professionals’ Competency Assessment and Licensure Directorate constitutes four case teams:
- Exam development case team
- Exam administration case team
- Registrar case team
- Registration & Licensure case team
Role and responsibilities
- Prepare and administer licensure examination to assess the competency of medicine & health science graduates of higher education institutions so as to improve quality of health service
- Send reports of licensure exam (Result & Domain Analysis) to higher education institutions and all relevant stakeholders to provide objective evidence for the improvement of health science educations.
- Notify results to candidates and regional licensing bodies so that only those who passed the exam may join the health workforce.
- Register & license health professionals coming from abroad
- Issue letter of good standing for health professionals
- Supervise & support regional regulatory bodies