Medical Education in Relation to Rural Health

Background and ObjectivesSince 1970, Ecuador establishes mandatory rural health service as a requirement for licensing work. Medical education is based in the hospital with little contact with rural areas. There is little information on the training and skills needs of recent graduated doctors. The research focuses on the perceptions of rural doctors on obstetric skills needed in rural areas. The aim of our study was to describe how the basic doctor in rural areas addresses training and teaching in obstetric skills needed in rural areas during undergraduate medical education.MethodsA qualitative research project was performed using focus group discussions involving 23 rural doctors who work in rural and marginal urban areas in Southern Ecuador. We identified themes that came from the data collected in the focus group and we selected those which are of interest for the readers in a detailed analysis. Rural doctors responded the following question: How do you feel with obstetric skills training at the University where you studied? ResultsThe majority of participants describe two predominant themes: the undergraduate theoretical teaching process of obstetrical skills and the practice experiences during the clinical attachment. Not all required skills are taught and internalize during undergraduate rotations including internship.DiscussionThere is no definition of the recent graduate profile that determines a standard for medical education. Rural doctors expressed lack of knowledge and practice for the obstetrical skills that they were required to perform. There is an urgent need to identify a baseline undergraduate curriculum that meets the country needs.

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Is a decentralized continuing medical education program feasible for Chinese rural health professionals?

Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions ◽

10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.18 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 18 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Guijie Hu ◽

Yanhua Yi

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Rural Health ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Continuing Medical Education ◽

Health Workers ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Clinical Competency ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical Education Program

Purpose: Rural health professionals in township health centers (THCs) tend to have less advanced educational degrees. This study aimed to ascertain the perceived feasibility of a decentralized continuing medical education (CME) program to upgrade their educational levels. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of THC health professionals was conducted using a self-administered, structured questionnaire in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Results: The health professionals in the THCs were overwhelmingly young with low education levels. They had a strong desire to upgrade their educational degrees. The decentralized CME program was perceived as feasible by health workers with positive attitudes about the benefit for license examination, and by those who intended to improve their clinical diagnosis and treatment skills. The target groups of such a program were those who expected to undertake a bachelor’s degree and who rated themselves as “partially capable” in clinical competency. They reported that 160-400 USD annually would be an affordable fee for the program. Conclusion: A decentralized CME program was perceived feasible to upgrade rural health workers’ education level to a bachelor’s degree and improve their clinical competency.

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