A pilot study to identify quality criteria for community -based medical education in Hong Kong
Keywords:
Community-based learning, Community-based medical education, Quality criteria, Quality assuranceAbstract
Background
To better prepare students for the health needs of society, there is pressure on medical svhools to provide greater learning opportunities in the community. On challenge is the on-going quality assurance of these programs. Before setting benchmark standards for quality evaluation, a relevant set of criteria must first be defined. the aim of this study was to identify a locally relevant set of quality criteria for assuring undergraduate medical community-based learning in Hong Kong
Methods:
An audit of the MBBS curriculum was undertaken to identify all eligible community-based learning activities and to obtain information regarding learning objectives, assessments and quality assurance methods. Semi-structured interviews with program coordinators were conducted to explore their perceptions reagrding factors influencing the educational quality of their courses. Interviews were taped, transcripbed and contents thematically analyzed.
Results:
10 program coordinators, representing 14 of the 18 eligible programs were interviewed. 59 items were identified and classifed as structural, process or outcome criteria. Physical cahracteritsing of the learning sites such as size, and accessibility, attributes of the teachers, adequate resourcing for community-based leasrning and stability of community partnerships emergeed as key criteria affecting student learning, whilst professionalism and community-based values towards learning or working in community settings and towards service utilization emerged as key outcomes.
Conclusion:
Community-based learning in Hong Kong has unique challenges whicih require close attention. In order ro ensure the sustainability of the programs, effforts are needed to indentify ways to nurture and maintain realtaionships with community partners with reciprocal benefits.
Â
References
Habbick, BF, Leeder, SR. Orienting medical education to community need: a review. Medical Education 1996;30:163-71.
GMC. Tomorrow's Doctors: Recommendations on Undergraduated Medical Curriculum. London: General Medical Council, 1993.
Murray, E, Modell, M. Community-based teaching: the challenges. British Journal of General Practice 1999;49:395-98.
Lau, CS, editor. Celebrating 120 years of Medical Education. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2006.
Worley, P, Silagy, C, Prideaux, D, et al. The Parallel Rural Community Curriculum: an integrated clinical curriculum based in rural general practice. Medical Education 2000;34(7):558-65.
Leung, GM, Fielding, R, Chan, M-F, et al. The development and evaluation of an integrated community-based, patient-centred learning activity at the University of Hong Kong. Medical Education 2002;36:992-95.
Bowen, JL, Stearns, JA, Dohner, C, et al. Defining and evaluating quality for ambulatory care educational programs. Academic Medicine 1997;72(6):506-10.
Sutkin, G, Wagner, E, Harris, I, et al. What Makes a Good Clinical Teacher in Medicine? A Review of the Literature. Academic Medicine 2008;83(5):452-66 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31816bee61.
Cotton, P, Sharp, D, Howe, A, et al. Developing a set of quality criteria for community-based medical education in the UK. Education for Primary Care 2009;20(3):143-51.
Kennedy, EM. Beyond vertical integration Community based medical education. Australian Family Physician 2006;35(11):901-03.
Shipengrover, JA, James, PA. Measuring instructional quality in community-orientated medical education: looking into the black box. Medical Education 1999;33:846-53.
Marahatta, SB. Community based medical education: prospects and challenges. Kathmandu University Medical Journal 2009;7(27):194-95.
Lam, TP, Lam, BYY. Medical Education Reform: The Asian Experience. Academic Medicine 2009;84(9):1313-17 10.097/ACM.0b013e3181b18189.
Bowen, JL, Irby, DM. Assessing quality and costs of education in the ambulatory setting: a review of the literature. Academic Medicine 2002;77(7):621-80.
Magzoub, ME, Schmidt, HG. A taxonomy of community-based medical education. Academic Medicine 2000;75(7):699-707.
Howe, A. Twelve tips for community-based medical education. Medical Teacher 2002;24(1):9-12.
Kristina, TN, Majoor, GD, van der Vleuten, CPM. Defining generic objectives for community-based education in undergraduate medical programmes. Medical Education 2004;38(5):510-21.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
- Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
- It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
- The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
- The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.