Quality improvement in the undergraduate medical curriculum: the need for clinical exposure

This correspondence article aims to outline the importance of an integrated clinical component within Quality Improvement education in response to the recently published article by Shah et al.. The Quality Improvement and Patient Safety workshops described in the above study were compared with the Quality Improvement module experienced by medical students at King’s College London. The key difference between the two methods of teaching Quality Improvement was the clinical project undertaken by King’s College Students, which helped students gain an appreciation of the pitfalls of instigating change in a clinical environment. The authors feel that this arguably more authentic experience could have benefited the students in the study in making them feel better equipped to use the skills learned in the theoretical workshops in their later careers.

Geriatric Care Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: a Scoping Review Protocol

Background: Rapid demographic change and aging population demand that health professional’s especially general physicians need to be better competent around older adults' care and managing multiple conditions of them. Evidence shows that the current gap in health care professionals’ skills and the lack of medical school training for caring well the aging population. Therefore, health professions need to improve geriatric competencies in the curriculum to care for and met older adult’s preferences.Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify core competencies relevant to geriatric care in the undergraduate medical curriculum.Methods: This scoping review protocol is based on the Arksey and O’Malley framework and further developed by Levac et al. Four databases including PubMed, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science will be searched. Citation searching for identifying additional studies, through reference lists checking of studies and reviews will be applied. Studies in English and Persian language, published from 01/01/ 2015 to 12/31/2020, will be included. Data will be extracted based on ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) Core Competencies Framework. Selected studies will be reviewed and data extracted by two independent reviewers, and presented in table or chart, and synthesized in thematic format.Conclusion: All analyses in this study will be based on the previously published papers. The present scoping review will provide evidence-based information on core competencies for revising the undergraduate medical curriculum related to geriatric care.

Students’ perception of implementing journal clubs in an undergraduate medical curriculum

Background: Journal club is an essential teaching-learning activity that provides a forum for developing skills in critical appraisal. It helps in keeping abreast of new knowledge, facilitating the application of new research in improving patient care, and aiding medical students to be competent clinicians. The current study aimed to elucidate whether students are aware of the concept of a journal club and their willingness to implement a journal club in their undergraduate medical curriculum. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate medical students at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, The National University of Science and Technology, in February 2019. A structured questionnaire of 8 items was administered that assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perceptions towards implementation of a journal club (JC) in an undergraduate curriculum among medical students. A total of 161 undergraduate medical students participated in the study. Results: Of the 161 students, 112 (69.4%) were in their preclinical years, and 49 (30.6%) were in their clinical years. In all, 145 students were female and 16 were male. Majority of students in their preclinical years (70.5%) were not aware of the journal club. Among the five reasons given for journal clubs to be included in the curriculum, the largest number of students (30.8%) wanted a journal club because it would help them to gain confidence to present cases in clinics and exams. The most common reason students did not want a journal club was that it requires a great deal of time to prepare (64.3%). Conclusion: The introduction of a journal club would enhance the proficiency of undergraduate students to be lifelong learners. It is a robust educational tool to equip them with knowledge of research practices that would aid in better patient care.