Misconceptions and integration

Introduction: Pervasive beliefs regarding curricular reform and integration have flourished among medical students, faculty members and medical school administrators. These concepts have extensively impacted the reform process, sometimes by resisting the reforms and sometimes by diverting the curriculum from its planned objectives. In the current paper, we have tried to address the challenges of integration in MD program by looking at the existing literature and the experience of the international universities

Methods: We collected the questions frequently asked during the curricular reform process. We, then, evaluated them, and selected 5 main ideas. In order to find their answers, we searched the literature using these keywords: integration, reform, and undergraduate medical curriculum

Results: The findings are discussed in five sections: 1] Reform is not equivalent to integration, 2] Integration can be implemented in both high school and graduate programs, 3] Organ-system based integration is not the only method available for integration, 4] Integration of two phases [basic sciences and physiopathology] can be considered but it is not mandatory, 5] Integration does not fade basic sciences in favor of clinical courses

Conclusion: It seems that medical education literature and prior experience of the leading universities do not support most of the usual concepts about integration. Therefore, it is important to consider informed decision making based on best evidence rather than personal opinions during the curricular reform process

Medical students' viewpoint regarding the integrated module of basal ganglia

Integration is an important educational strategy in medical education. Considering this idea, the goal of the present study was to design and implementation of longitudinal and vertical integrated education of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, neurology and neuropsychiatry subjects of brain's basal ganglia by a multidisciplinary team. Kern's approach to curriculum development was used. Participants were 20 medical students at basic science level who contribute in a 10 stations of pre-test exam at Medical School's Skill Lab. After the implementation of the module by a multidisciplinary team, post-test were done. A structured questionnaire was designed to assess student opinions about adequacy, usefulness of the module using a Likert scale with 5 categories ranging from "completely agreement" to "completely disagreement". The result of pre and post-test were also compared. Twenty questionnaires were completed, giving a 77.63% satisfaction rate. Seventy-five percent of students found it useful and appropriate at basic science level. About fifty percent of students suggested the implementation of this module for other medical students. The score of post-test was significantly [14.52 +/- 0.47 vs 6.32 +/- 0.62, P<0.05] higher than pre-test results. The viewpoints of medical students were positive and they value the module highly. Since it is not easy to change the style we teach, these results suggest necessitate of supporting the faculty member's participation in these modules

A survey of medical students' perceptions of the quality of their medical education upon graduation

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>To evaluate the perceptions of the graduates of our medical school regarding the quality of their educational programme.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>A total of 183 questionnaires, each containing 262 questions, were completed anonymously by medical students upon their graduation from the medical school.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>About 77% of the respondents felt that Basic Science courses lacked clinical relevance. Many of the students (61.2%) believed that physiology, amongst other Basic Science courses, was the most clinically relevant course. Assessment of the students about their clinical clerkship and internship rotations was not very favourable. Overall only 28.4% of the respondents were generally satisfied with the medical training they received. Respondents indicated many deficiencies in the curriculum, and in their competences. Exposure to numerous activities was rated by respondents as being inadequate: "geriatrics and gerontology education" (87.5%), "office management" (86.4%), "alternative medicine" (85.8%), "healthcare quality improvement" (85.7%), and "rehabilitation" (83%). Around 70% of the respondents reported that they have not been taught sufficient clinical skills in preparations for their future clinical practice. Only 33.3% of the respondents felt that they had acquired adequate knowledge and skills to start residency training.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study illuminates many aspects of the curriculum the faculty needs to address in order to prepare physicians effectively and efficiently for clinical work. It can be used as a tool to find the trends in our curriculum and the impact of curriculum revision activities which are currently underway in our School of Medicine.</p>