Abstract

GAL-IGLESIAS, Beatriz; FERNANDEZ-SANTANDER, Ana; PALAU, Luisa  and  SANCHEZ, Ana M.. Integrating a medical school curriculum in the initial courses: qualitative and quantitative analysis of a pilot experience. FEM (Ed. impresa) [online]. 2013, vol.16, n.4, pp.225-231. ISSN 2014-9840.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S2014-98322013000600007.

Introduction. The recent reform in higher education in Europe implies a curricular redesign based on an integrating approach. In Medicine, integrative teaching of the basic sciences remains a major challenge when applied in the first years. Materials and methods. The goal of this work is to describe a new methodology to implement an integrating curriculum of the basic sciences in the initial courses of Medicine. This program was applied during two consecutive academic years (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) over a total of 350 students. A satisfaction survey was designed using a Likert-like scale for quantitative analysis. Results. The use of an integration curriculum in basic sciences helps to establish a balanced curriculum between traditional and new methodologies. The combination of an integrated curriculum and small group methodology, has clear benefits for the students by facilitating the acquisition of general competencies as enhancement of team work abilities, and improving comprehension of basic sciences. Conclusions. In spite of additional workload for students and teachers, successful implementation of an integrating curriculum in the initial courses of Medicine requires a balanced number of students and appropriate learning resources to achieve an optimal development of specific and key skills.

Keywords : Basic courses; Integrated curriculum; Integration; Medical education.

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