Ten Semester 5 Primary Health Care (PHC) students from the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), The Maldives National University (MNU), undertook a field management placement at a peripheral health facility on 18 June 2026. The placement provided students with practical exposure to healthcare management and leadership within a middle-level healthcare setting in the Maldives.

The field-based learning experience enabled students to observe and apply key management functions relevant to healthcare organisations, including delegation, supervision, resource management, team leadership, and service coordination. By engaging with the operational environment of a health facility, students were able to connect management concepts learned in the classroom with the practical responsibilities of healthcare managers and team leaders.

An important component of the placement was the opportunity for students to reflect on management practices and examine the functioning of healthcare teams. Students considered areas of strength and opportunities for improvement within service delivery, helping them develop a more practical understanding of how effective management contributes to the delivery of healthcare services.

For FHS, such field placements strengthen the practice-based component of health professional education by providing students with direct experience of the organisational and managerial dimensions of healthcare. This is particularly relevant for PHC graduates, who may contribute to service coordination, supervision, programme implementation, and management across different levels of the health system.

Feedback from the placement indicated that the experience strengthened students’ confidence and understanding of healthcare management, while helping prepare them for future leadership responsibilities in healthcare settings.

The activity contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through the development of health workforce capacity, and SDG 4 (Quality Education) through experiential learning. Its focus on management and leadership skills also relates to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), particularly through professional skills development, while exposure to healthcare delivery in peripheral settings supports the broader goal of reducing disparities in access and service capacity reflected in SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Through this field placement, students strengthened their understanding of leadership, management, supervision, and healthcare service delivery, complementing their clinical and public health education with practical management experience relevant to the Maldivian health system.