Korean Medical Schools Research Articles

Analysis of medical students' enneagram personality types, stress, and developmental level.

The purpose of this research was to examine the medical students' personality with stress and developmental level. The study explored three overarching topics: How are medical students' personality types reflected in an enneagram? Are there any differences between subtypes of stress points? How are the students' developmental levels by gender, academic level, and enneatypes? The subjects were 414 medical students in three Korean medical schools. Enneagram Personality Types Inventory (Korean version) was used. These enneatypes were divided into four subtypes: centers of intelligence, hornevian triads, self-consciousness, and harmonic group. Enneatypes and stress points were analyzed statistically by frequency and percentage of enneatypes, chi-square test, and ANOVA. Distribution of enneatypes; type 9 was the most frequent class (n=136, 32.9%). Types 1, 3, 4, and 9 had more disintegrated students than other types (chi2=59.2, p=0.000). Subtype analysis; in body-centered type more students were disintegrated than integrated or mediocre (chi2=25.8, p=0.000). In behavior patterns, aggressive and passive types showed more disintegration (chi2=25.2, p=0.000), and in self-consciousness groups only inner order types showed integration (chi2=19.3, p=0.001). In harmonic group, positive outlook types contained the most disintegrated students (chi2=20.5, p=0.000). Majority of medical students were in disintegrated developmental status. A program should be developed for students to know their ego-identity plainly and overcome their disintegration, based on their enneatypes. Such a program will help students improve their ways of thinking or their behavior and become more secure.

Analysis on teaching evaluation of clinical clerkship at korean medical schools.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching evaluation of clinical clerkship at Korean medical schools, and to suggest a desirable improvement for the clinical teaching evaluation in the future. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a total of 9 multiple-choice questions and 1 essay-type question. The multiple-choice questions were analyzed by the frequency analysis using SPSS 17.0, and the essay-type question was coded by the content analysis. Survey results were as follows: First, clinical teaching evaluations via online (51.35%) were implemented once a year (94.59%) in most medical schools. Second, the self-made questionnaires by medical school (64.86%) rather than borrowing or adaptation (35.14%) were being used more often as teaching evaluation tool. Third, 37.84% medical schools used the specific form by class type, whereas 62.16% medical schools took the general form regardless of class type. Finally, evaluation tool (n=8), lack of concern and attention to teaching evaluation (n=4), formalities of evaluation (n=4), etc. were exposed as problems of clinical teaching evaluation. With regard to evaluation items, the development of specific questions was required. Teaching evaluation can be used as effective educational tools to improve the clinical clerkship program. To this end, clinical teaching evaluation tools reflecting the characteristics of clinical practice need to be developed.

The trend of body donation for education based on Korean social and religious culture

Until a century ago, Korean medicine was based mainly on Oriental philosophies and ideas. From a religious perspective, Chinese Confucianism was prevalent in Korea at that time. Since Confucianists believe that it is against one's filial duty to harm his or her body, given to them by their parents, most Koreans did not donate their bodies or organs for education in the past. However, by the end of the 20th century, a unique fusion of Western and Oriental medicines were produced on the Korean Peninsula, revolutionizing traditional perspectives on the human body, mortality, and the relationship of medical science to society. Koreans began to think about others' lives as well as their own by realizing the importance of donating one's organs and bodies for scientific purposes. Since then, the number of people donating their bodies to Korean medical and dental schools for the purpose of improving academic learning has increased dramatically. In response, Korean medical schools have begun to hold various types of funeral ceremonies to honor body donors. We have compared such ceremonies performed in Korea with those performed in the United States of America and Taiwan. These ceremonies are viewed as a suitable way to pay proper respect to the dead and to promote knowledge about body donation programs in Korea. Overall, the transition of religions and social ethics in Korea has greatly facilitated body bequeathal programs, benefiting both medical education and the Korean public health administration.

A Survey on the Introduction of Medical Humanities and Sociology into the National Medical Licensing Examination

Purpose: This study aimed at investigating the current situation of Medical Humanities and Sociology-related-curriculum in Korean medical schools, and suggesting the courses of study for the contents and methods of the Medical Humanities and Sociology examination, which can be included in the National Examination for Medical Practitioners. Methods: We analyzed Medical Humanities and Sociology-related courses which are offered in Korean medical schools, and a survey was conducted by medical school professors and students and medical journalists. In the survey, the Medical Humanities and Sociology-related courses were divided into 8 parts, and the participants were asked to evaluate the importance of duty, necessity of education, necessity of evaluation and the evaluation method of each part using a seven-point scale. Results: A total of 207 medical school professors and students and 9 medical journalists participated in the survey. The results were similar for the importance of duty and necessity of education of each part, but those for the necessity of evaluation were different. - As a result, there seems to be a gap between the importance of duty and the importance of education of each course. Medical journalists and students group answered differently on the necessity of evaluation of each course was also reserved. Conclusion: It is necessarily recommended to include Medical Humanities and Sociology-related courses such as medical ethics, self-improvement and doctors’ social responsibilities in the National Examination for Medical Practitioners.

Analysis of Scientific Publication Networks among Medical Schools in Korea

ObjectivesThis research was intended to analyze the special characteristics and structure of social networks among Korean medical schools for the purpose of providing knowledge regarding medical field structure, dynamics, and potential paradigm development.MethodsA collaborative 12-year data set of 35,469 published articles in the SCOPUS® database was analyzed. Among ISI subcategories, 61 having more than 20 articles were scrutinized. Following identification of correspondence and co-authorship, centralization indices and Key Player analysis were run for each subcategory. Medical schools were grouped into uniform clusters with convergence of iterated correlation (CONCOR) for structural equivalence. Finally, multidimensional scaling was used to visualize similarities.ResultsAll centralization indexes analyzed demonstrated a shift in the degree of centralization in the network of medical schools throughout the period examined. Betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality in particular revealed a dramatic change indicating minimization of the role of a specific "gatekeeper". Key Player analysis confirmed Seoul National University as a constant 'key player' throughout the period evaluated and for the subcategories examined as well.ConclusionsThis study provided insight into the scientific network among the medical schools of Korea. By understanding this network, a strategy to strengthen the basis of research may be developed.

Reform of medical education in Korea

There are 41 medical schools in South Korea with over 3500 students graduating from the medical schools annually with the appropriate qualifications to practice medicine. Korean medical educators have made significant efforts to enhance the effectiveness of medical education by preparing students for the rapidly changing global environment of medicine and healthcare. This article outlines the reform efforts made by Korean medical schools to meet such demands, which includes the adoption of student-centered and competency-based education, e-learning, and authentic assessment of clinical performance. It also discusses the recent reform of the medical education system, driven by the Government's policy to prepare Korean higher education for an increasingly knowledge-based society.

의학대학 소속 연구자 발표 논문의 주제 분야에 대한 분석

In this study, research topic areas in Korean and American medical schools were analyzed to detect each nation's major research areas. CLINICAL NEUROLOGY was identified as the Korean researchers' major subject area by the total number of journals and 'RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING' was the most major area by the total number of articles. On the other hand. American researchers' top major subject area was the one same area according to all analysis, BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. In addition, Korean researchers showed publishing tendency related to journal preference in several subject areas.

Current Status of Scientific Citation Index Expanded Article Publications and Relationship with the Human Resources of Medical Schools in Korea

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to quantify both the output and the impact of the relationship between Korean medical schools and their human resource departments and their ability to support the basic data for research goals of Korean medical schools. Methods: The SCOPUS database was used to identify SCIE (scientific citation index expanded) articles produced by Korean medical schools between 1997 to 2008. The SCIE criteria, impact factors, and citation numbers were classified according to the database of Thomson Scientific Company. The human resources of medical schools were collected, such as the number of professors, graduate students, clinical fellows, residents, interns, and research assistants, through use of the medical deans' association biannual report. Results: There was a significant difference across Korean medical schools in the number of the SCIE articles and citation numbers, resulting in only a few institutions producing most of the impact. Among the variables, the proportion of professors of basic medical science (p<.01) and the number of research faculties per professor (p<.01), were related significantly to the SCIE per professor. The only factor affecting both SCIE number and SCIE per professor was the number of research faculties per professor. The number of graduate students in the medical school had no impact on productivity. Conclusion: For the medical schools with restricted resources, the strategic plans for proper management of human resources are needed to promote scientific publication. (Journal of Korean Society of Medical Informatics 15-3, 321-340, 2009)

Discriminant Analysis of Essay, Mathematics/Science Type of Essay, College Scholastic Ability Test, and Grade Point Average as Predictors of Acceptance to a Pre-med Course at a Korean Medical School

A discriminant analysis was conducted to investigate how an essay, a mathematics/science type of essay, a college scholastic ability test, and grade point average affect acceptance to a pre-med course at a Korean medical school. Subjects included 122 and 385 applicants for, respectively, early and regular admission to a medical school in Korea. The early admission examination was conducted in October 2007, and the regular admission examination was conducted in January 2008. The analysis of early admission data revealed significant F values for the mathematics/science type of essay (51.64; P<0.0001) and for grade point average (10.66; P=0.0014). The analysis of regular admission data revealed the following F values: 28.81 (P<0.0001) for grade point average, 27.47 (P<0.0001) for college scholastic ability test, 10.67 (P=0.0012) for the essay, and 216.74 (P<0.0001) for the mathematics/science type of essay. Since the mathematics/science type of essay had a strong effect on acceptance, an emphasis on this requirement and exclusion of other kinds of essays would be effective in subsequent entrance examinations for this premed course.

Preparing the Implementation of Computerized Adaptive Testing for High-Stakes Examinations

On 13 October 2008, staff members of the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination (NHPLE) of the Republic of Korea visited Hallym University to observe students taking a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) via personal computer. Afterwards, the staff members discussed CAT and its installation with Hallym University faculty and the psychometrician. NHPLE is still undecided about the timetable for introducing CAT to the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE). Although the KMLE is expected to adopt CAT eventually, implementation after an official announcement could take up to four years. Medical schools can use the period before the announcement to prepare for CAT. To adapt CAT to a high-stakes examination such as the KMLE requires that NHPLE, the presiding organization, conduct studies to construct the best system and bench-mark examples from other countries, such as Canada. The role of the psychometrician is essential to the process. In addition, each medical school should prepare for CAT by first introducing computer-based testing (CBT). CBT has many of the same merits as paper-and-pencil tests (PPT), but may provide a more reality-based clinical situation in the medical institutes. Korea's high-speed internet bandwidths and high-quality hardware provide excellent conditions for CBT, and some schools have already introduced it. After CBT is established, CAT item parameters can be calculated, and the database of items and item parameters can be constructed. One challenge in introducing CAT to individual Korean medical schools is the difficulty of creating stable item parameters, as the number of students in each school is fewer than 150. To overcome this size constraint, medical schools may form consortia to enable the construction of more stable item databases. Open-source CBT and CAT projects already exist at sourceforge. net, which can serve as a good resource for medical schools. Finally, the expertise of psychometricians is essential to the launch of CAT at each school. Many medical schools in Korea have begun to recruit education specialists, but recruiting psychometricians may require more time. These specialists have a theoretical understanding of issues such as item-response theory, models, and other factors that should be considered in applying CAT. If recruitment is not an option, psychometric consultants should be hired. Although implementing CAT at each school may take time, step-by-step preparation is mandatory to facilitate this useful evaluation tool for medical students.

Study on the Medical Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum in Korean Medical School: Current Teaching Status and Learning Subjects

Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea Purpose: We did this study to find out the current teaching status of th e medical humanities and social sciences curriculum in Korean medical schools. Further, we discuss the tasks at hand to improve the curriculum in medical education. Methods: The curricula of 41 medical schools and the syllabi of 10 scho ols were examined. We analyzed the tables of course organization and contents of inte grated medical humanities. After analysis of the contents, they were grouped into 6 categories o f medical humanities and social sciences domain. Results: Our results are as follow: 1) there are 3 types of medical humanities and social sciences subject forms: inter-disciplinary(integrated, for example, PDS) , multi-disciplinary(separated subject form), and mixed(integrated+separated); 2) most schools offer medical humanities and social sciences in a required class; 3) medical humanities and social sciences are taught through all school years and all 8 graduate medical schools offer a medical humanities and s ocial sciences course from year 1; and 4) the average academic credits for medical humanities are 10 o r 11. With respect to the curriculum content, there is some commonality in 10 schools: disease preve ntion, health improvement, medical ethics, medical regulation, professionalism, and community medi cine. Differences were seen in content selection and organization. Conclusion: After brief reviews of the medical humanities and social scien ce curriculums, we discovered that all Korean medical schools meet the need of med ical humanities and social sciences education. However, curriculum implementation differed in vario us ways. We suggest the following tasks: 1) clarification of educational goals in order to develo p a core curriculum of medical humanities and social sciences in Korea; 2) sharing experiences of develop ing a well-designed curriculum with other medical schools for effective teaching of this subject ar ea.󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏Key Words: Medical humanities, Professional behavior, Multi-disciplinary curriculum, Inter-discipli-nary curriculum, Curriculum change, Curriculum development

Teaching Medical Professionalism in Korean Medical Schools: Tasks and Prospect

The Medical Student Objectives Project of the American Association of Medical Colleges states that physicians must demonstrate “a commitment to advocate at all times the interests of one's patients over one's own interests,” as well as “an understanding of the threats to medical professionalism posed by the conflicts of interest inherent in various financial and organizational arrangements for the practice of medicine.” Due to these concerns, for the last some 30 years, there have been many attempts to improve medical professionalism curriculum in medical education such as altruistic attitudes and professional behaviors that those pursuing careers in medicine should possess. However, physicians today are not infrequently confronting conflicts of interest, such as those arising between the health system that employs them and the individual patient seeking care. This paper briefly reviews current status of teaching medical professionalism in Korean medical schools, and discusses tasks to be coped with to further improve the medical professionalism curriculum in Korea including development of effective teaching and evaluation methods. This paper also emphasizes the importance of the role of the medical education systems such as National Licensing Medical Examination and the Medical School Accreditation System in improving the teaching of medical professionalism in Korean medical schools.

Teaching Professionalism in Korean Medical Schools

전문직업성, 전문가 정신, 전문가주의, 전문직업 주의 등 여러 가지로 번역되고 있는 프로페셔널리 즘은 현재 세계 의학교육계의 가장 중요한 의제가 되고 있다. 그것은 전 세계적으로 의료 프로페셔널 리즘이 위기에 직면해 있다는 반증이기도 하다. 이 러한 위기의 원인으로는 1) 환자를 포함하는 일반 시민들의 자율성 (autonomy)에 대한 요구 증가, 2) 의료비용의 상승과 한정된 의료자원의 분배문제에 서 비롯된 제3자 집단에 의한 의료통제 강화, 3) 의 료환경의 다원화, 거대화, 세계화에 따른 시장경제 화, 4) 전통적 의사 역할로부터 의사들을 한눈팔게 하는 다양한 유혹의 증가 등을 들 수 있다. 프로페 셔널리즘의 위기는 의사들의 사회경제적 지위하락 과 의사들에 대한 대중의 신뢰와 존경심의 감소로 나타나고 있으며 Elliott Krause는 이를 ‘거인의 추 락’으로 표현한 바 있다. 특히 우리나라는 사회 전 반에 걸친 왜곡된 평등주의, 정치인들의 대중영합 주의 및 계층대립 조장, 권위에 대한 적개심, 흑백 논리적, 혹은 감정적 사고 등의 사회문화적 특성과 맞물려 프로페셔널리즘이 단순 붕괴를 넘어 파괴 되고 있는 실정이다. 더 나아가 우리나라는 의료계 내부에서도 프로페셔널리즘에 대한 인식이 제대로 정립되어 있지 않고 그 결과 의사들 스스로가 자신 도 인지하지 못한 채 의료 프로페셔널리즘을 와해 시키는 일종의 자해 행동을 하는 것을 흔히 볼 수 있다.

An Analysis of Course Evaluation Programs at Korean Medical Schools

An Analysis of Course Evaluation Programs at Korean Medical Schools

Status of Clerkship Education and Its Evaluation in Korean Medical Schools

Status of Clerkship Education and Its Evaluation in Korean Medical Schools

Teaching Medical Humanities in Korean Medical Schools: Tasks and Prospect

Teaching Medical Humanities in Korean Medical Schools: Tasks and Prospect

Contents and Methodologies of Medical Informatics Education

In recent years, medical informatics education programs are being introduced to the curriculum of Korean medical schools. However the consensus on the necessary contents and effective methodologies of medical informatics education is not reached yet among the faculty members of medical schools. This paper reviewed medical informatics curriculum guidelines issued by the Association of American Medical Colleges (Medical Schools Objective Project Ⅱ) and UK Council of Heads of Medical Schools to define the necessary contents of medical informatics education. And reviewed some articles to define ideal methodologies in medical informatics education.

Correlation of CPX Scores with the Scores of the Clinical Clerkship Assessments and Written Examinations

Purpose: Recently, the clinical performance examination(CPX) using standardized patients has been introduced to several Korean medical schools. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the correlation of CPX scores with the scores of other clinical clerkship assessments and written examinations. Methods: We evaluated the correlation of the scores of CPX, which was administered to third-year medical students(n=230) at Seoul National University College of Medicine in January 2005, with the scores of a slide examination in internal medicine, an objective structured clinical examination(OSCE) in pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, and the written examinations in internal medicine and general surgery. Results: CPX scores showed a mild correlation with the scores of the slide examination in internal medicine and OSCE in pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology(r=0.19, 0.28, 0.30). CPX scores were also mildly correlated with written examination scores in internal medicine but not associated with those in general surgery. Conclusion: Considering the mild correlation of CPX scores with scores of other clinical clerkship assessments and written examinations, CPX should be affirmatively considered as an examination complementary to previous examinations.

Learning Issues from the M.D.-Ph.D. Program of the United States Medical Schools in its Application to the Educational System of Korean Medical Schools

Learning Issues from the M.D.-Ph.D. Program of the United States Medical Schools in its Application to the Educational System of Korean Medical Schools

Current Situation of Medical Professionalism Education in Korean Medical Schools

Current Situation of Medical Professionalism Education in Korean Medical Schools