Teachers and students opinion regarding updated MBBS curriculum 2012 in a teaching hospital.

The modern concept of a curriculum originally derived from the Latin word for a race course. Undergraduate medical education is part of a continuum of education and training.The new curriculum is structured to provide a balance among learning opportunities through integrated teaching system. This study was carried out to explore the views of teachers and students regarding the current undergraduate medical curriculum. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between October 2019 to October 2020 among the teachers and students of a private medical college and hospital (MH Samorita medical collegesandhospital) in Dhaka Bangladesh. The sample size were 100 in total. Most of the participants suggested for changes in overall existing MBBS curriculum. Highest satisfaction was seen in content related to learning objectives that were 90% and highest dissatisfaction was seen in Phase distribution of subjects that were 89%.However, they were satisfied with present pattern of course content, objectives, evaluation system and carry on system. Teachers and students evaluation may prove useful if analyzed further to overcome the shortcomings of existing MBBS curriculum. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.13(1) January 2022: 27-32

Audit on Clinical Competency of Fresh Medical Graduates in a Malaysian Private University Using Kirkpatrick Level-1 Evaluation Model

Clinical competency is the core of the medical curriculum. Careful ongoing evaluation of clinical competency is required to ensure continuous reviewing for curriculum development. The objective of this study was to investigate self-perceptions of clinical competency of fresh medical graduates using the Kirkpatrick framework – the most convenient and widely used model for measuring clinical competency. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 fresh medical graduates of Widad University College, Malaysia in 2019 using a standardised questionnaire containing 43-items of competency. Respondents were asked to rate self-perceptions of his/her competency in these attributes using a five-point Likert scale against each attribute, where 5 = always competent and 1 = never competent. The response rate was 92%. Out of 43 items, graduates were always competent in taking clinical history and examining a patient thoroughly; frequently competent in eight attributes; sometimes competent in 29; and occasionally competent in four. The graduates have not yet started their houseman-training; and thus, got fewer chances to practice all the procedures. It is expected that graduates’ competency will improve during their houseman training. There is scope for improvement, as faculty need to pay more attention to improving student competency by arranging additional training. The teaching of clinical competency also needs integration with the pre-clinical phase for early exposure. The findings have direct implications for faculty development towards competency-based education that would bridge the gap between education and practice. This study offers other medical schools a window towards comprehensive use of competency tools to assess the competency of their graduates.

Calling Situated: A Survey Among Medical Students Supplemented by a Qualitative Study

Background calling within the medical context receives growing academic attention and empirical research has started to demonstrate its beneficial effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate what motivates students to enter medical school and what role calling may play (i), to evaluate if calling influences their perception of the learning context (ii) and to compare medical students’ experience of calling with those of physicians. Methods A questionnaire survey was distributed among medical students (N = 1048; response rate above 60%) of Lausanne University, Switzerland, supplemented by a group discussion between bachelor medical students (N = 8) and senior physicians (N = 4), focusing on different facets of calling. An existing data set of a survey among physicians, addressing calling with the same items, was used to compare students’ and physicians’ attitudes towards calling. Survey data were analyzed with the habitual statistical procedures for categorical and continuous variables. The group discussion was analyzed by means of thematic analysis. Results the survey showed that experiencing calling is a motivational factor for study choice and influences positively choice consistency. Students experiencing calling differed from those who did not : they attributed different definitions to calling, indicated more often prosocial motivational factors for entering medical school and perceived the learning context as less burdensome. The analysis of the group discussion revealed that calling is polysemous, fluid, conceived as having the characteristics of a double-edged sword and originating from within or outside or from a dialectic interplay between the inner and outer world. Finally, calling is experienced less often by physicians than by medical students, who experience calling in a decreasing prevalence with increasing immersion in the clinical years of the study of medicine. Conclusions calling plays an important role in study choice and consistency of medical students. Given its relevance for medical students and its ramifications with the learning context, calling should become a topic of the reflexive parts of the medical curriculum. We critically discuss the role played by calling for medical students and provide some perspectives on how calling could be integrated in the reflection and teaching on physician-hood.

MEDICAL HUMANITIES AND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING ETHICS IN MEDICAL GRADUATES

Medicine as a field is unique in the sense that the skill to relate to people weighs heavier on the doctor than the skill required to practise it. Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field that considers issues of health in the context of history, philosophy, social studies, and anthropology among others, enabling students to change their practice from “looking” to “seeing” the patient as a whole. Unfortunately, current medical training is focused on academics with students left on their own to acquire communication and ancillary skills. In the core medical curriculum, a structured training in medical humanities remains lacking. Herein, we discuss the need, student’s perspectives, and the approach going forward in the inculcation of medical humanities in the medical training with a particular focus on medical ethics.

The evaluation of the relevance of teaching of homeopathy at the medical school

Background: In 1912 the Hahnemann Medical Faculty to graduate homeopathic physicians was created. This was one of the courses that originated the present Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro – UNIRIO. Homeopathy in UNIRIO was consolidated during the 80s and 90s through the relationship with other specialties. In 1999, the interface of Homeopathy and the curriculum guidelines of the Brazilian Ministry of Education justified the inclusion of Homeopathy as a compulsory subject in the medical course at UNIRIO. In 2001 a University program to improve the development of research called “Homeopathy - Health and Quality of Life”, was created to integrate the activities of Teaching, Research and Extension. Aim: To evaluate the relevance of the compulsory teaching of Homeopathy in the medical area at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro – UNIRIO, Brazil. Methods: A prospective longitudinal qualitative and quantitative research was used with semi-structured questionnaires with open and closed questions at the beginning and end of each semester. Undergraduate students from the third year of the UNIRIO Medical Faculty (2008/March till 2009/September) who accepted the “Consent Form”, were included. Students who didn't respond adequately to the questions were excluded. This research was approved and registered at the Brazilian Research Ethics Center. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 used to data collection and analysis. Results: Total number of students attending the course during the four semesters: 304. 70% answered the questionnaires. 60% of the students had heard of homeopathy before attending the homeopathy course (67% as patients, 21% as patients and through media, 6% through media and 6% by other means of contact). 86% consider that homeopathy brought new knowledge to the medical and academic training. 72% consider that this knowledge could be applicable to their future career. Conclusion: Most students aim to learn the guiding principles of homeopathy. Their aim is to know all available treatment, modalities and alternatives to allopathy in medical education. They considered that the learning of Homeopathy is a part of general medical training due to the fact that it has been a recognized medical specialty in Brazil since 1980. The student’s opportunity to learn homeopathy during the undergraduate course in medical schools widens the individuality concept, “the doctor-patient relationship and the holistic vision of the patient”. These results demonstrate the relevance of teaching homeopathy in the medical curriculum and the need to spread the teaching of homeopathy as a compulsory course for all other medical universities.

Establishing New Curriculum of Pathology and its Challenges at a New Medical College

Background: A competency-based curriculum is the key highlight of medical transformation in India, which provides an outcome-based framework requiring the integration of knowledge, skills, and values, unlike an old curriculum that did not provide a cohesive and comprehensive outlook. Objectives: We aimed to discuss and evaluate in detail the process and setup of a new competency-based medical curriculum in the Department of Pathology and enlist the assets and challenges while doing the same. Methods: The new curriculum was set up under the guidelines of competency-based undergraduate curriculum for the Indian Medical Graduate, state university guidelines, articles from the internet, and discussions with other universities all over the country. Conclusions: As compared to the previous curriculum, the new curriculum introduces many positive changes and requires a revolutionary change in the outlook of institutions, faculty, and students. Prior preparedness, flexibility to adopt new changes, consistency, and long-term commitment to transition from facilitators will go a long way in producing an excellent Indian medical graduate.

“Probing in the complexities of the integrated undergraduate medical curriculum”: A qualitative exploratory study

Objectives: To explore the perceptions of the faculty regarding the level of curriculum integration and their interpretation of the integration ladder in achieving the complex process. Method: The qualitative exploratory study was conducted at Islamic International Medical College Islamabad, University College of Medicine and Dentistry Lahore and Rehman Medical College Peshawar, from March to August 2018. The participants were the faculty members involved in the designing and implementation of the integrated curriculum in these institutes. The semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic content analysis. Results: Of the 18 faculty members, 6 (33.3%) belonged to each of the three institutions. Four themes identified were: curriculum planning, an uphill task; dream versus ground reality; moving up and down the ladder; and teamwork in the paradigm shift. There were different perceptions of the level of integration among faculty members within the same institute. The level of integration ranged from 5-9 in different phases of the curriculum. The processes included all the teamwork steered by the departments of medical education. Conclusion: Although Harden’s integration ladder is a useful tool, curriculum integration is an inherently inconsistent and complex process that does not follow a simple hierarchical continuum of integration and requires a teamwork. Identifying the patterns of integration in different phases of the curriculum might be more practical than just determining a single level of integration in the whole curriculum. Key Words: Curriculum, Integration, Faculty, Pakistan.

Pilot Remote Clinical Communication Skill Session During COVID-19 Pandemic: Medical Education in New Normal

IntroductionClinical Communication teaching has relied heavily on face-to-face teaching using Patient Partners. The current situation with COVID-19 has led to lockdown, social isolation and travel difficulty. This leads to challenges in delivering this teaching. The study aim is to pilot a clinical communication teaching session remotely, using a virtual learning environment and video conferencing. This study evaluates the pilot about achieving learning outcomes on Musculo Skeleton disease and experience of student’s and patient partner.MethodsMixed qualitative and quantitative data are obtained through an online survey. The thematic framework is used to analyse the qualitative data and the descriptive statistics are used to evaluate the quantitative responses. Results The study provided satisfaction on proceeding this new pilot remote communication session to the routine medical curriculum, with 100% recommendation by the students. The majority of students had transformed their theoretical knowledge in the Musculo Skeleton disease system to consult with patient partners. The study also finds some gaps such as delays due to internet and device faults, limited time to build rapport with patients, nonverbal expressions are not being conveyed via the screen and difficulties in adapting to new remote sessions in short transition.ConclusionLooking into the future of new normal. Remote clinical communication session worked well during the pilot study. New innovatory methods in delivering remote teaching and more studies on different diseases topics should be implemented to analyse the sustainability and validity of the remote session for continuous delivery in medical education.