Document Type : Original Article
Author
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Social factors such as culture, race, education, belief, and living and working
environment can be part of the causes of diseases or influence the natural history of a disease.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have adopted the Harden’s ten questions of curriculum
development framework approach to assess the social impact of medical curriculum of Faculty of
Medicine, Gezira University (FMUG), among the Integrated Program of Field Training, Research, and
Rural Development course. We have assessed the objectives and aims of the course and critically
analyzed how these will meet the need for social sciences to be integrated into the curriculum.
RESULTS: The recommendations about social and behavioral sciences are well implemented in the
curriculum of FMUG. The curriculum promotes early exposure to the community learning. The ten
questions of Harden for curriculum or course assessment are satisfactorily covered in the Integrated
Program of Field Training, Research, and Rural Development course at FMUG. In addition, the
course is also fitting well with criteria suggested recently for increasing competency in social medicine
within the medical school curriculum. Importantly, the course is part of the social sciences that well
integrated through the duration of the curriculum.
CONCLUSION: The Integrated Program of Field Training, Research, and Rural Development course
at FMUG satisfy most of the competency for social medicine. Therefore, taking all these factors
into consideration, it is possible to suggest that further research is needed to establish whether the
model of FMUG in social sciences can be exemplary for universities in Africa and the Middle East.
Keywords
- Mirghani OA, el Amin EO, Ali ME, Osman HS, Hamad B.
A combined course of primary health care practice and family
medicine at the University of Gezira. Med Educ 1988;22:314‑6.
2. Mirghani OA, El Sanousi M, El Hassan Abdulla M,
Taha Mohamed Osman O, Babiker Habour A, Ahmed SM, et al.
Accreditation of the faculty of medicine University of Gezira,
pilot study. Gezira J Health Sci 2005;1:126‑76. - 3. Hamad B. Interdisciplinary field training research and rural
development programme. Med Educ 1982;16:105‑7.
4. Hamad B. Problem‑based education in Gezira, Sudan. Med Educ
1985;19:357‑63.
5. Hamad B. Community‑oriented medical education: What is it?
Med Educ 1991;25:16‑22.
6. Hamad B. Establishing community‑orientated medical schools:
Key issues and steps in early planning. Med Educ 1999;33:382‑9.
7. Elsanousi S, Elsanousi M, Khalafallah O, Habour A. Assessment
of the social accountability of the faculty of medicine at university
of Gezira, Sudan. East Mediterr Health J 2016;22:258‑66.
8. Ahmed MH. Reflection for medical undergraduate: learning to
take the initiative to look back to go forward. J Hosp Manag Health
Policy 2018;2:31. Available from: http://www.jhmhp.amegr oups.
com/article/view/4343. [Last accessed on 2018 Nov 12].
9. Chastonay P, Vu NV, HumairJP, Mpinga EK, Bernheim L. Design,
implementation and evaluation of a community health training
program in an integrated problem‑based medical curriculum:
A fifteen‑year experience at the university of Geneva faculty of
medicine. Med Educ Online 2012;17:16741.
10. Ahmed YA, Alneel S. Analyzing the curriculum of the faculty
of medicine, university of Gezira using Harden’s 10 questions
framework. J Adv Med Educ Prof 2017;5:60‑6.
11. Harden RM. Ten questions to ask when planning a course or
curriculum. Med Educ 1986;20:356‑65.
12. Noor SK, Elmadhoun WM, Bushara SO, Ahmed MH. The
changing pattern of hospital admission to medical wards: Burden
of non‑communicable diseases at a hospital in a developing
country. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J 2015;15:e517‑22.
13. Rourke J, Boelen C, Strasser R, Palsdottir B, Neusy AJ. The medical
teacher and social accountability. Practical Guide for Medical
Teachers. 5th ed., Ch. 48. Dundee: Elsevier; 2017. p. 368‑75.
14. Yardley S, Brosnan C, Richardson J. The consequences of authentic
early experience for medical students: Creation of mētis. Med
Educ 2013;47:109‑19.
15. Yardley S, Brosnan C, Richardson J, Hays R. Authentic early
experience in medical education: A socio‑cultural analysis
identifying important variables in learning interactions within
workplaces. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 2013;18:873‑91.
16. Harden RM, Laidaw JM. Essential skills for medical teacher. 2nd
ed., Ch. 12. Dundee: Elsevier; 2017. p. 89‑94.
17. Rule AC. The components of authentic learning. J Authentic Learn
2006;3:1‑10.
18. Available from: http://www.med.uofg.edu.sd/en/program.
aspx?program=2008. [Last accessed on 2018 Jul 24].
19. Magzoub ME, Schmidt HG, Abdel‑Hameed AA, Dolmans D,
Mustafa SE. Student assessment in community settings:
A comprehensive approach. Med Educ 1998;32:50‑9.
20. Available from: http://www.hmaward.org.ae/profile.
php?id=270. [Last accessed 2018 Nov 12].
21. Available from: https://www.isdb.org/announcement/
three-institutions-win-the-2017-isdb-prizes-for-sciencetechnology. [Last accessed 2018 Nov 12].
22. Roff S, McAleer S. What is educational climate? Med Teach
2001;23:333‑4.
23. Miles S, Swift L, Leinster SJ. The Dundee ready education
environment measure (DREEM): A review of its adoption and
use. Med Teach 2012;34:e620‑34.
24. Ahmed Y, Taha MH, Al‑Neel S, Gaffar AM. Students’ perception
of the learning environment and its relation to their study year
and performance in Sudan. Int J Med Educ 2018;9:145‑50.
25. Fahal AH. Medical education in the Sudan: Its strengths and
weaknesses. Med Teach 2007;29:910‑4.
26. Carney PA, Palmer RT, Fuqua Miller M, Thayer EK, Estroff SE,
Litzelman DK, et al. Tools to assess behavioral and social science
competencies in medical education: A systematic review. Acad
Med 2016;91:730‑42.
27. Vanderbilt AA, Baugh RF, Hogue PA, Brennan JA, Ali II.
Curricular integration of social medicine: A prospective for
medical educators. Med Educ Online 2016;21:30586.
28. Westerhaus M, Finnegan A, Haidar M, Kleinman A, Mukherjee J,
Farmer P. The necessity of social medicine in medical education.
Acad Med 2015;90:565‑8.
29. McGinnis JM, Foege WH. Actual causes of death in the
United States. JAMA 1993;270:2207‑12.
30. Institute of Medicine. Improving Medical Education: Enhancing
the Behavioral and Social Science Content of Medical School
Curricula. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2004.
31. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System Prevalence Data; 2010. Available
from: http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/annual_2010.
htm#information. [Last accessed on 2018 Jul 13].
32. Association of American Medical Colleges Behavioral
and Social Science Expert Panel. Behavioral and Social
Science Foundations for Future Physicians. Washington, DC:
Association of American Medical Colleges; 2011. Available
from: https://www.aamc.org/download/271020/data/
behavioralandsocialsciencefoundationsforfuturephysicians.
pdf. [Last accessed on 2015 Nov 13].
33. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
Core Competency Definitions. Greensboro Area Heath Education
Center. Available from: https://www.ecfmg.org/echo/
acgme‑core‑competencies.html. [Last accessed on 2018 Jul 24].
34. Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Washington, DC:
LCME; 2013. Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education
Programs Leading to the M.D. Degree. Available from: https://
www.aamc.org/members/osr/committees/48814/reports_lcme.
html. [Last accessed on 2018 Dec 24].
)