Abstract
ABSTRACT Undergraduate medical curricula are currently undergoing a process of reform, with such changes including the field of neuroanatomy. In this context, the purpose of our study was to assess the status of undergraduate neuroanatomy studies in Portuguese medical schools to provide a basis for a more informed discussion on the curricular changes. With all seven Portuguese medical schools participating in the study, four of them were shown to incorporate a modern integrated curriculum and the other three a conventional discipline-based curriculum. Our study therefore shows that neuroanatomy is approached differently according to each institutional culture. The great variability in neuroanatomy studies across medical schools emphasizes the need for the creation of a national core curriculum on undergraduate neuroanatomy.
Highlights
In recent decades the paradigm of medical education has changed considerably in its priorities, contents and methods[1,2,3]
There are no national guidelines to help decide which is the minimum level of neuroanatomy knowledge that should be required to students or what is the core curriculum content
One of the medical schools that reflects a modern curriculum is integrated within a “spiral” model of curriculum design, where neuroanatomy is revisited multiple times with increasing complexity to reinforce learning
Summary
In recent decades the paradigm of medical education has changed considerably in its priorities, contents and methods[1,2,3]. At the European level the big booster of this paradigm shift was the Bologna process[4], which aims to integrate and harmonize the European Higher Education Area In this context, undergraduate medical education is undergoing a reform process that is moving away from a conventional (discipline-based) curriculum towards a modern (i.e., integrated system-based) curriculum[5]. There are no national guidelines to help decide which is the minimum level of neuroanatomy knowledge that should be required to students or what is the core curriculum content In this context developing and supplying data related to current status of undergraduate neuroanatomy education in Portuguese medical schools is essential, as this kind of information can help course directors and teaching faculty making changes and improvements to their educational programs
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