ABSTRACT
The Indian Medical Council introduced the Competency based medical education (CBME) in the academic year 2019-20. One of the many new changes in the undergraduate medical curriculum, was the Foundation course (FC) of one month duration, introduced at the beginning of the medical course. The purpose of FC was to prepare the entrant medical students to medical education and profession. Program evaluation is essential to analyse the utility and also for continuous remodelling of of any educational program, so that the primary objectives are achieved. The study hypothesis was that the students would find the foundation course vital and beneficial. This was a mixed method study including quantitative and qualitative methods. Following the conduct of FC, we collected feedback from diverse group of first professional medical students (n= 719) of academic year 2019-20 by administering pre-validated standardized questionnaires using google forms. Majority of students agreed or strongly agreed that the FC experience was educative, interesting, and an enabling experience. Qualitative responses revealed, that the students were pleased to be introduced to the most salient aspects of medical education and profession. The most significant suggestions for improvement were reduction of duration of FC, conducting FC after completing the entire admission process, reduce redundancy in topics and to deliver it more interactively. Our study is unique to have evaluated perception on FC from a large number of students across various government, private and deemed medical institutions in South India. Insights from this study will help to guide effective implementation of FC.
ABSTRACT
Background: Medical education in India is being revolutionized with the introduction of “Competency-based undergraduate curriculum” for an Indian Medical Graduate. It demands great commitment, flexibility to adopt to changes, and lifelong learning. For this, 1 month foundation course was introduced across the country. Unfortunately, the pandemic had cast its shadow on a conduct of this very pertinent foundation course at a classical offline mode and made a shift to online learning inevitable. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study how the use of technology can result in effective delivery of course content through feedback analysis and online objective assessment. Materials and Methods: Feedback from the students was obtained employing a predesigned questionnaire mailed to them using Google forms and online objective assessment was also conducted after the end of the course. Results: The majority of the students felt that the topics selected were absolutely essential for the medical profession and scored fairly well in the assessment. Conclusion: The results of the present indicate that there was not much difference in students perception about the foundation course whether covered through online or offline mode suggesting a blended learning format to be a useful teaching learning method during the post-pandemic phase.
ABSTRACT
Background: In India, medical education entails instruction in a wide range of fields, including exposure to human interactions and interpersonal connections in a variety of contexts, such as hospitals, communities, and clinics. The program is rigorous and involves a high level of dedication, perseverance, and lifelong learning. This is planned to be accomplished by a 1-month dedicated “Foundation Course” at the start of the MBBS program. Aim and Objective: The purpose of this study is to learn about the students’ perspectives on various aspects of the foundation course. Materials and Methods: At the end of the foundation course, 1124 students from several medical institutions in Gujarat were given an online feedback form with a pre-designed questionnaire. Medical ethics, attitudes, and professionalism, universal precautions and vaccinations, patient safety and biohazard safety, principles of primary care, language and communication skills, time management, stress management, first aid, and basic life support are some of the important objectives covered in the foundation course. Results: About 91.81% of students feel that foundation course is required. Only 45.37% of students were happy with the current duration of course. 43.86% of students like sport in extracurricular activities, which highest among all. Basic life support is most liked topic learned in foundation course. Conclusion: The foundation course, which takes place at the start of the MBBS program, will familiarize the new medical student with the necessary information and abilities. The basis course will also lay a solid foundation for studying in the MBBS program and afterward in their careers.