Community-based medical education in action: primary care physicians’ perceptions

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: During the last decade, in response to wide ranging changes in healthcare systems and physicians' roles, the medical curriculum has undergone some modification. To achieve high quality education, 2 strategies are suggested: (1) Community-based medical education and (2) Community-oriented medical education. During the process of curriculum planning, the planners need to identify the potential areas for improvement and to guarantee the quality of instruction. This study aimed to determine the viewpoints of medical graduates from Qazvin University of Medical Science (QUMS), Tehran, on community medicine internship and clerkship programs (CMICP) in order to assist better decision-making by policymakers.Methods: In this qualitative study, the conventional content analysis approach was employed. Data were gathered from 20 primary practitioners of QUMS through individual semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) which were continued until data saturation occured. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed immediately after the interviews. To analyze the data, one note was employed and to analyze the qualitative data, inductive method was used. The unit of analysis was selected and labeled using an open coding system. Then, the similar open codes were categorized in subthemes and finally the subthemes were organized into the main themes. Findings: The results of data analysis identified 4 main themes including: planned curriculum, delivered curriculum, hidden curriculum and curriculum evaluation.Conclusion: Many graduates suggest that, in addition to curriculum renewal, curriculum planners should identify mediated factors in CMICP to prepare graduates to practise in healthcare settings.