This paper deals with the evaluation of the effectiveness of individual psychotherapy by students on patients' subjective symptomatic improvement and the therapeutic benefits to medical students. The results of the study indicated that student psychotherapy was of significant benefit to psychoneurotic patients, but was of dubious value in the clinical teaching of psychotherapy in the psychiatric curriculum of the medical course at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Several medical schools in Southeast Asia have identified deficiencies in their undergraduate medical education that result in inappropriate training of students for the health-care problems that exist in their respective countries. Curriculum changes have been made that take students out of the laboratory and the subspecialty-oriented university hospital and place them in extramural programs in the community. Both the deficiencies identified and the solutions developed merit study by North American medical educators, especially those teaching primary care in family practice.
Behavioural self-analysis projects were introduced into the second year medical curriculum in behavioural sciences at the University of Malaya. Students performance and evaluation of the experience were compared with those of American medical students. It was concluded that receptivity of medical students to principles of behaviour therapy is relatively similar in the two societies.
The code of ethics derived from the Hippocratic Oath needs to be supplemented by a formal curriculum in Medical Ethics and Medical Humanities in our Medical schools. The need and justification for it, a review of the medical ethics curricula in American. European. British and Australian Universities, together with an outline of the proposed curriculum is described.
This paper describes the analysis of the written professional examinations administered at the Medical School, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), during the academic year 1979-80. It is a product of a collaborative activity involving medical teachers and two short-term consultants of the World Health Organization. The examination papers were analysed in order to identify content areas disproportionately emphasized in the examinations; to determine the quality and appropriateness of the examination items used; and to review the extent of continuity and integration across departments and courses. This paper is intended to introduce an approach to curriculum review which is based on analysis of the examination system. The procedures and sample outcomes are described and the implications for curriculum development and evaluation are discussed.
Formal population education is designed to teach children in school about basic population issues and, in many cases, to encourage them eventually to have smaller families. Some programs include specific units on human reproduction and family planning, while others do not. National population education programs began during the 1970s in about a dozen countries, mainly in Asia. These include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Egypt, Tunisia, and El Salvador. A strong case can be made for including an important contemporary issue like population in the school curriculum. Nevertheless, educational innovation is a difficult and long-term process. As a rule, it takes 5 to 10 years before new material can be fully incorporated in a school curriculum. Curriculum changes must be carefully planned, thousands of teachers trained, and appropriate materials prepared for classroom use. Moreover, differences of opinion over the need, acceptability, goals, content, methods, and other aspects of population education have held back programs in some countries. Where population education programs have been implemented, student knowledge of population issues increases, but it is not yet clear whether in-school education has a measurable impact on fertility-related attitudes or behavior.
The suitability of physiology topics taught in the first-year dental curriculum needs to be investigated in the light of the view of the present generation of clinical and preclinical teachers, and students. This was studied in the University of Malaya in order to propose a rational physiology curriculum with proper identification of priority topics. Oral physiology, blood and the cardiovascular system were found to be the most relevant for dental students. Among the systems, high and low priority topics were identified and their relative importance is discussed.
There is universal concern on the current inequitable coverage and low quality of health care. The lead roles of medical practitioners in health care and how they are prepared for such roles are being re-examined in many countries. This paper attempts to rationalise the need to reorientate medical education towards primary health care, and to suggest possible emphasis and direction for change.
Required learning of the basic medical sciences based on five clinical problems was compiled by teachers and subsequently derived as 'learning needs' by students during the problem-solving process. These lists of topics were compared in terms of number of lecture-hours and when these were taught in the traditional curriculum. The findings indicate that learning from problems is not entirely free-rein and can be largely determined by teachers; topics taught earlier in the course appeared more frequently than latter topics and there was a tremendous overlap of topics in both the traditional and problem-based list. Regardless of whether lectures have been given or not, students recalled facts better if they had encountered the related clinical problem. This study also reveals that problem-based learning can be as efficient as lectures in content coverage and concludes that the lecture method be retained provided the topics are selective and are derived and sequenced appropriately with clinical problems. Problem-solving should be adopted as a teaching strategy.
The Phase I and Phase II undergraduate teaching programmes of the School of Medical Sciences were reviewed at the end of the 1985/86 academic year. It was found that deviations from the School's philosophy had crept into the implementation process. Modifications were therefore made in Phase I and Phase II programmes with a view to:--(i) reducing content, (ii) promoting integration, (iii) improving clinical examination skills of students, and (iv) providing more opportunities to students for self learning, reinforcement and application of knowledge. The number of assessment items in Phase I and the frequency of assessment in Phase II were also found to be inappropriate and so modifications in assessment were made to rectify this situation.
A cross-sectional national survey was conducted amongst a random sample of medical practitioners registered in 1988 with the Malaysian Medical Council with the purpose of determining their educational needs with regards to continuing medical education (CME). A 91.0% response rate was obtained. It was found that more than 70% wanted a programme that would provide them with new practical skills and new knowledge or advances in specific fields. About 2/3 also wanted their intellectual skills in problem-solving to be further developed. Reinforcement of communication skills appears to be of secondary importance. They would also like a programme of CME to help them monitor and improve their diagnostic accuracy, investigative habits, prescribing pattern, skills in interpreting diagnostic tests and management of common illnesses. As for content areas it was found that the problems they have least confidence in managing come mainly from the disciplines of psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency and critical care. More than 90% preferred self-learning methods with some group-type activities. Based on these needs it was recommended that a programme of CME be developed with orientation towards a practice-based setting, self-directed learning, utilizing problem-solving approaches and focusing on the major content areas identified. In addition, activities such as small-group discussions, clinical rounds and journal clubs should be encouraged to develop into local network group activities to supplement the self-learning and present lectures and talks.