MEDICAL EDUCATION: Challenges Faced by Senior Faculty in the Implementation of Integrated Curriculum in Developing Countries
Integrated Curriculum; Challenges
Abstract
Objective: To identify the key challenges faced by senior faculty members in the implementation of an integrated curriculum in developing countries
Study Design: Quantitative descriptive cross-sectional.
Place and Duration of Study: Foundation University Medical College Islamabad and Women Medical College Abbottabad. Four months duration (Jun 2017-Sep 2017).
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two private medical colleges. The sampling technique employed was a purposeful non-probability sampling technique. A total of 60 senior faculty members(Associate Professors and Professors) participated in the study. Data collection was carried out using a selfdeveloped, validated questionnaire (closed-ended), consisting of 20 items based on the Likert scale format of Strongly Agree (SA) =4 points, Agree (A) = 3 points, Neutral, 0 Disagree (D) = 2 points, and Strongly Disagree (SD)
= 1 point.
Results: Descriptive analytics were run on SPSS version 21. The common challenges confronted by senior faculty members in the implementation of an integrated curriculum consisted of; Lack of sequential planning of the integrated curriculum (66.5%), insufficient continuous medical education (CME) activities for faculty (56.5%) along with ineffective communication among faculty members (53.5%), lack of effective teamwork (42.6%) and lastly, deteriorating quality of students in medical colleges (48.6%).
Conclusion: Senior faculty members faced diverse challenges while their institutes decided to implement the modular integrated curriculum. The lack of a collaborative approach in curriculum planning adversely affected curriculum organization and sequencing. Lack of interdepartmental communication and collaboration and deficient faculty development programmes together with the deteriorating quality of medical students were the major challenges faced by senior faculty members in implementing an integrated curriculum.
