Teaching of major communicable diseases in Sudanese medical schools: a critical look

This descriptive, cross-sectional study of Sudanese medical schools aimed to describe and analyse the proportion of their curricula currently allocated for teaching of communicable diseases and to assess the teaching methods and student assessment tools. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from heads of departments and students in 20 of the 27 medical faculties and from ministry of health staff at federal and state levels. Curriculum designs ranged from traditional to innovative, community-oriented programmes. Problems regarding student evaluations were identified. Major limitations included shortages of staff, reference materials and teaching aids. Poor knowledge of students about different aspects of diseases endemic in Sudan was found. Recommendations include curriculum development, staff recruitment and training, and improvement of teaching and training of students

Introducing the IMCI community component into the curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira

In 2001 the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Gezira [FMUG] started to introduce the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness [IMCI] strategy into its medical curriculum. The emphasis was on pre-service training that addresses standard case management and the IMCI community component. This report presents the experience of FMUG in integrating such a training package into the medical curriculum. It explains the rationale for introducing the IMCI community component and the guiding principles for doing so. It describes the community-based courses into which the community component was integrated, the implementation and impact of the programme and the constraints faced