Draft:Arie Rotem

Arie Rotem, AM is an Australian–Israeli academic known for his contributions to medical education, human resources for health, and health systems strengthening. He is Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), where he headed the School of Medical Education and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Training Centre for Health Development.

Early life and education

Rotem was born in Jerusalem, then part of the Palestine Mandate (modern-day Israel), on 8 May 1945—the date marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. His parents, Reuven and Rachel, were pioneers in the establishment of the Jewish state. In 1969 Rotem married Wendy Ann Curtis, they have two sons, Adi and Tai.

Rotem earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1971), a Master of Arts in Education (1973), and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Administration (1975) from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Academic career

Rotem joined UNSW in 1976 as a lecturer in the School of Medical Education (SME). He played a key role in establishing the SME and the WHO Regional Training Centre for Health Development as resources for reforming medical education and developing human resources for health. His work aligned with international efforts to shift from didactic teaching to experiential learning, with teachers facilitating interactive learning and designing supportive learning environments.

UNSW was chosen as the base for the WHO centre for the Western Pacific Region. Rotem succeeded Professor Kenneth Cox as director of the WHO/RTC in 1988 and became Head of the School of Medical Education in 1994. After retiring in 2005, he continued teaching and consulting as Emeritus Professor in educational institutions including Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Japan’s National Institute of Public Health.

Public health leadership

Rotem contributed to the establishment of a Public Health program at UNSW, led by Professor James Lawson. He later chaired the Centre for Public Health and the Sydney Consortium for Public Health, in partnership with the University of Sydney. In these roles he engaged with the Commonwealth Department of Health on funding and resource allocation for the Public Health Education and Research Program (PHERP) in Australia, conducted a national review of public health training, and, as Chair of the Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions (ANAPHI), helped develop competency frameworks and accreditation standards for public health education.

International consultancy

Since the late 1970s Rotem has undertaken consultancies in more than 20 nations across East Africa, Asia, and the Pacific for agencies including WHO, the Asian Development Bank, and AusAID. His work has focused on planning and developing human resources for health and strengthening management capacity in national health systems.

From 2008 to 2018 he advised the Ministry of Health in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on national strategies for health personnel development and capacity building in health professions education. He also contributed to the design of workforce planning methodologies in the WHO Western Pacific Region, including target-based projection models applied in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. In the South Pacific, he supported regional initiatives such as the Pacific Human Resources for Health Alliance, institutional strengthening in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji, and the design of strategies promoting “healthy islands.”

Rotem served as a WHO temporary adviser, participating in expert committees and consultations on health management and human resource development, and supporting the creation of national health professions education centres across the Western Pacific Region.

Honours

Rotem was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for “significant service to tertiary education, and to public health.” He received the Fred Katz Memorial Medal from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Medical Education (1996) for his contribution to health personnel education in developing countries, and the Lao PDR Medal of Friendship (2013), presented by the Minister of Health, for his role in strengthening the Lao health system.

Selected publications

Rotem has published widely on health workforce policy, health professions education, public health, and program evaluation. Selected works include:

• From Clinician to Manager, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, 2nd edition, 2004 (1st edition 1995).
• The Public Health Workforce Education and Training Study, AGPS, Canberra, 1995.
• General Practitioners in Hospitals, AGPS, Canberra, 1993.
• The Health Workforce South Pacific Island Nations, WHO/RTC, UNSW, 1991.
• “The evolution of the national licensing system of health care professionals: a qualitative descriptive case study in Lao People’s Democratic Republic,” Human Resources for Health, 2017.
• “Strengthening the engagement of provinces in health workforce planning and management: a case study from Lao PDR,” Journal of Epidemiology (Japan), 2016.
• “Addressing the human resources crisis: a case study of Cambodia’s efforts to reduce maternal mortality (1980–2012),” BMJ Open, 2013.
• “Measuring students’ approaches to learning in different clinical rotations,” BMC Medical Education, 2012.
• “Negotiating norms, navigating care: findings from a qualitative study to assist in decreasing health inequity in cardiac rehabilitation,” Australian Health Review, 2011.
• “A Framework for Evaluating the Impact of the United Nations Fellowship Programmes,” Human Resources for Health, 2010.

A complete list of publications is available via Google Scholar.