Premedical Curriculum Research Articles

The empathic capital of pre-medical students

Literature on the professional and emotional socialization of medical trainees in the US tends to focus on students who have already matriculated into medical school, leaving pre-medical student experiences largely understudied. Specifically, little is known about how these students develop and understand empathy during their pre-medical years. We draw on qualitative interviews with 25 pre-medical students at Midwest University and find that students at this stage possess considerable empathic capital, a resource that they will likely draw on in medical school and beyond. Specifically, pre-medical students understand empathy in cognitive, affective, and action-oriented ways; recall instances of empathic action in their everyday lives; and view empathy as a learned emotional state, shaped in the context of social relationships and the pre-medical curriculum. These understandings of empathy reflect a crucial stage in the development of students' empathy careers (Ruiz-Junco, 2017), as they shift from primary (home and family) to secondary (education, peers) emotional socialization. It behooves medical educators and researchers to understand the empathic capital that medical students “bring to the table” so that empathy training can better incorporate or challenge learners’ existing conceptualizations.

Multimodality in medical education: Perspectives on medical shadowing from an experiential learning curriculum

When undergraduate students join a premedical programme, they enrol in basic sciences with the rare opportunity to engage in clinical activities. One way to overcome this is a medical shadowing programme aimed at introducing students to important aspects in building their professional identity as future doctors: emotional intelligence and empathy, professionalism, teamwork, and leadership in medicine. As medical shadowing involves students’ constant engagement with various material artefacts in a clinical setting, it makes sense to apply methods that include artefacts, such as multimodal and visual semiotics. Using an inquiry graphics analytical framework inspired by Peircean semiotics, this paper argues for the integration of multimodality in undergraduate medical experiential learning, a scarcely researched area in medical education. Using a case study methodology, this study reports on an analysis of students’ visual representations of the intended learning goals and the applicability of visual artefacts as a tool for reflection on their shadowing experience. This research fills a gap in the literature on the role of multimodality, particularly visual imagery, in fostering new ideas that promote professional identity in medicine. Using data collected from 15 premedical students’ written reflections on their shadowing experience, the study results show students’ heightened awareness of physician attributes and their role in socializing premedical students early in their medical profession. The research findings would benefit premedical education leaders, instructional designers, and curriculum developers and inspire medical educators to embrace multimodality in teaching, learning, and assessment.Keywords: premedical education; multimodality; medical shadowing programmes; visual imagery; experiential learningPart of the Special Issue Visual literacies and visual technologies for teaching, learning and inclusion <https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.bf2afe2e>

Reimagining premedical foundation blended curriculum through design thinking: A qualitative study

The shift in teaching and learning following the pandemic encouraged faculty and teaching staff to seek creative teaching methods, find different means to engage students online, and provide students with the opportunity to be creative themselves and enjoy their learning journey. In the Spring of 2021, a design thinking (DT) unit was designed and integrated into the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course for foundation students enrolled in a premedical programme at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar. The teaching team consisting of the course director, a teaching specialist, and a librarian curated a series of reading materials to introduce students to DT and its applications in different interdisciplinary areas including healthcare and medicine.As students were getting acquainted with the literature, they were also working in groups of three to identify a problem in their everyday lives, investigate the problem, and brainstorm a human-centred solution. The teaching team provided the students with guiding instructions throughout the DT project by delivering mini presentations for each of the four phases. The college’s learning management system Canvas was used to facilitate online group work and create a series of mini assignments to assess students’ deliverables.The problems tackled by the students and the range of solutions they presented show the highly creative potential of first-year college students, their awareness of current issues in various organisations, particularly in healthcare, and their ability to leverage technology to design solutions for everyday problems.This paper presents the findings of a programme improvement project that investigates two questions in relation to the effectiveness of technology-enabled DT for foundation students’ learning and their perceptions of their learning through exposure to DT. The paper analyses the findings from students’ reflections on the DT project and provides a clear description of the developed DT unit and its integration in an undergraduate curriculum to promote students’ creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.Keywords: design thinking; premedical education; English for Academic Purposes; social constructivism; blended learning; human-centred solution; teamworkPart of the Special Issue Technology and educational ‘pivoting’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic <https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.0a9292af>

Is Organic Chemistry Helpful for Basic Understanding of Disease and Medical Education?

The objective of this study is to determine current medical students’ perspective on the importance of Organic Chemistry in premedical curriculum, or if they see more benefit in a taking a different course. Previous literature has focused on premedical students, but the current study focuses on current medical students. A qualtrics survey was sent to points of contact for medical schools asking about the utility of Organic Chemistry in undergraduate premedical curriculum. Current students included first through fourth year medical students at U.S. allopathic and osteopathic programs. All age ranges, genders. and ethnicities present in the medical school population could volunteer to participate and complete the survey. The survey opened in June of 2020 and closed on April 1, 2021. As a result, 566 students from 46 medical schools responded to the survey. The majority of medical students (54.9%) stated that Organic Chemistry helped to prepare their critical thinking skills. Ivy League students valued the course more than their non-ivy counterparts (66.7% vs 46.3%; p = 0.027), and allopathic students valued the course more than osteopathic students (49.4% vs 40.0%; p = 0.042). Based on our survey, Organic Chemistry improves critical thinking skills during medical education, suggesting that Organic Chemistry should remain a part of the undergraduate premedical curriculum. Creating a health-science-oriented Organic Chemistry course may increase its value.

Medical Anthropology Courses and Concepts Tested on the MCAT: A Content Analysis of 40 U.S. Course Syllabi.

The Association of American Medical Colleges recommends students seeking to enter medical school complete courses in the social sciences. Despite calls to teach social science—including anthropology—in pre-medical curriculum, little is known about what is taught in undergraduate medical anthropology courses and if concepts taught in those courses addresses topics tested in the MCAT exam. Given the growing number of anthropology students in baccalaureate allied health fields, there is a growing need to examine if anthropological coursework addresses relevant MCAT topics. Using a mixed methods content analysis, this study examined syllabi from forty U.S.-based medical anthropology courses to assess if MCAT concepts are taught in Medical Anthropology courses. Survey data was examined using descriptive statistics; syllabi were analyzed with NVivo using a binary coding scheme and modified grounded theory. Overall, only 8.69% of 155 possible concepts and terms from the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the MCAT were present in the syllabi. We close with considerations for future course design of medical anthropology courses.

(Re-) Defining evolutionary medicine.

The applicability of evolutionary biology principles to diseases has been largely questioned by the medical field. While Evolutionary Medicine (EM) developed in part to lessen this gap, EM is an independent field from both evolution and medicine, whose continued narrowing of topics as a consequence of its reductionist approach, in addition to its focus to introduce itself at a late stage in medical education, has led to its continued resistance toward implementation. In turn, this has had a profound and lasting impact on the awareness of evolution in medicine among physicians. For both the evolutionary and medical communities to reach a common perspective and obtain a greater frame‐work of medical thought, a comprehensive view of the evolution of the healthy human being needs to be introduced as a starting point during the premedical curriculum. Here, we present our views on the ongoing challenges that have caused the continued division between the evolutionary fields and medicine, and provide solutions to help bridge the gap for an interdisciplinary field of evolution in medicine.

Biochemistry course-based undergraduate research experience: Purification, characterization, and identification of an unknown lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme.

Enzyme purification, characterization, and identification are some of the best ways to introduce undergraduate students to many aspects of biochemistry, particularly as part of project-based learning (PBL). These kinds of multi-step laboratory experiments not only help students to better understand basic biochemistry concepts but also serve to introduce them to the scaffolded nature of the research environment. A 13-week enzyme-based laboratory project was designed as one of three components associated with the course titled Capstone Laboratory, which is delivered to second-year undergraduate students at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar (WCM-Q). The project incorporated several fundamental biochemical laboratory techniques, such as chromatography, centrifugation, spectrophotometry, electrophoresis, and kinetic assays, as well as enzyme inhibition and bioinformatic exercises. The aims of the project were to first purify, then to quantify, and finally to study a particular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme extracted from different chicken organs. LDH was selected for investigation because its inhibition has potential as a therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. Students enrolled in the Capstone Laboratory course were divided into three groups. Each group conducted experiments associated with one of the project's three aims over consecutive 3-week periods. Relevant data and materials were passed from one group to the next, with individual students writing reports describing the results from their respective collection of experiments. Students in the third and final group gave presentations summarizing the results of the overall project. In the associated bioinformatic exercises, students assessed the similarities and differences between chicken-sourced and human-sourced LDH as well as the interaction between the LDH enzyme and the inhibitors. This PBL in biochemistry is a successful addition to the WCM-Q premedical curriculum because (a) it affords the second-year premedical students opportunities to improve and develop content knowledge and technical and communication skills, and also (b) it provides an opportunity to engage many of the undergraduate students in research.

Undergraduate Premedical Student Perceptions of an Emergency Department-Based Social Needs Screening Program.

Medical school admission requirements increasingly encompass competencies beyond the traditional premedical curriculum, such as service orientation and knowledge of "social determinants of health." The Stanford Help Desk is an undergraduate service-learning program that provides didactic and experientialexposure to the social determinants of health through screening for social and legal needs of emergency department (ED) patients. We assessed student perceptions of program impact through student applications, course evaluations, and an online program survey. This course strengthened students'understanding of theircareer aspirations in medicine. Students were resolved to incorporate consideration of social determinants of health in future practice.

의과대학 학생의 의예과 교육과정에 대한 인식에 관한 질적 연구

의과대학 학생의 의예과 교육과정에 대한 인식에 관한 질적 연구

Self-Efficacy as an Indicator for Success in a Premedical Curriculum for Underrepresented Minority High School Students.

Context:The Aspiring DOctors PreCollege Program at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Cleveland Campus is unique among other precollege pipeline and mini-medical school programs in that it engages learners from urban underserved communities for an entire academic year as a cocurricular adjunct to their high school course load. One day per month, students are brought to the medical college campus and introduced to the field of osteopathic medicine. Students also participate in activities related to preparing for college admissions, diversity in higher education, mental health and wellness, and financial stewardship. All these activities are done with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students in the health care professions.Objective:Self-efficacy has been identified as a measure of internal motivation and belief in one’s ability to succeed in the face of challenges. The purpose of this study is to determine what effect, if any, participation in this program has on URM student self-efficacy.Methods:Students were asked to complete a validated self-efficacy questionnaire at the start and end of this program to determine their levels of self-efficacy and if there were changes after participating in this program.Results:Ten of the 12 seniors completed pre- and post-self-efficacy surveys. Two main discoveries were made through this pilot. First, when tested at the beginning of the program, all students had high levels of self-efficacy (mean score, 4.45 of 5). Second, 2 items were specifically increased by a statistically significant amount. The students increased in self-efficacy concerning the responses “I can learn what is being taught in class this year” (P = .024) and “My ability grows with effort” (P = .015).Conclusions:With the competitive standards of acceptance into the Aspiring DOctors PreCollege Program, students enrolled in this program had high levels of self-efficacy from the onset. While there was modest increase across the board, many of these indicators remained consistently high after the program. Using self-efficacy as a screening tool for premedical students may be helpful in identifying candidates likely to succeed in a future medical career.

The sui generis Sydney Brenner

Sydney Brenner died on April 5, 2019, at age 92. His fame arose from three domains in which he operated with uncommon intellectual vibrancy. First were his prescient ideas and breakthrough experiments that defined the DNA genetic code and how the information it contains is transmitted into proteins. Second, in a later career, he developed a model organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans , to determine how the cells of an animal descend, one by one, along pathways of increasing specialization. Last was his beguiling skill as an intellectual sharpshooter, often surprising colleagues by the immediacy of his “take” of a problem, even ones somewhat beyond his ken. He always was very swift to the core point and instant with a wise reply. Sydney Brenner, 1927–2019. Image courtesy of Science Photo Library/James King-Holmes. Even though most of Brenner’s career was about the gene, it is to be emphasized that he was a keen biologist from the start. As an undergraduate at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa’s top university, he strayed from his premedical curriculum and became adept at looking at various protozoa and culturing them in the laboratory. He also got keen about meiosis and wrote a brief report in Nature on the high frequency of multipolar spindles, a biological oddity he found in the sperm of the South African jumping shrew, Elephantulus (1). Captivated by chromosomes and genes at this early stage, he then read publications of Cyril Hinshelwood at Oxford, a chemist turned bacteriologist. Winning a scholarship to attend Oxford, it was with Hinshelwood that Brenner’s fascination with the gene was catalyzed into full action. There, he did important work on how phages can go into transient dormancy. It seems likely that in doing these experiments, he came to perceive that DNA can be active or silent, a … [↵][1]1Email: thoru.pederson{at}umassmed.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Pre-medical basic first aid curriculum for 5 to 11 year old children

Pre-medical basic first aid curriculum for 5 to 11 year old children

Bridging the Problem-Based Learning Gap for the Pre-Medical Student: Lessons Learned from Physicists Maxwell and Einstein

Abstract Our pre-medical curricula have changed little since Flexner identified eight core classes in 1910. Discussion has continued to refine what science mastery is needed to become a medical sch...

Development of Premedical Curriculum in Inje University’s College of Medicine

One important purpose of premedical education is to help students attain core competencies during the two-year premedical program. Since premedical curriculum is the foundation of medical education, it is necessary to develop the premedical curriculum in accordance with the overarching curriculum of a medical school. Inje University’s College of Medicine (IUCM) has attempted to integrate competency-based medical education into the premedical education curriculum. The revised premedical curriculum aims to develop students’ intrinsic competencies during premedical years. In an effort to do so, IUCM defined competencies for premedical education, analyzed and designed premedical courses according to the defined competencies, and suggested learner-centered instructional methods. As a result of implementing the revised premedical curriculum, students have reported both positive experiences and difficulties. Based on the results, it will be necessary to continuously improve the premedical curriculum as well as develop appropriate methods for evaluating student achievement of the defined competencies.

Premedical Curriculum at Chonnam National University Medical School

The educational goal of premedical education is to provide the desired college-level training in liberal arts as well as sciences, and to equip students with a basis for future medical studies. The purpose of this study was to introduce a premedical curriculum at Chonnam National University Medical School and to provide baseline data for developing an improved premedical curriculum. The reformed premedical curriculum has been followed since 2017. Formal premedical curriculum consists of basic education and character education through liberal arts study and major courses related to medical education. In addition to the formal premedical curriculum, students are supported through various programs that help develop interpersonal and intrapersonal competences.

Premedical Curriculum in Seoul National University College of Medicine

The main points of issue with the former premedical curriculum of Seoul National University College of Medicine (SNUCM) were the absence of educational objectives, decline in student motivation caused by uniform education, students’ lack of a sense of belonging, and lack of humanistic education. In accordance with these issues, there were five aspects considered for the improvement of the premedical curriculum: reform based on the newly established educational objectives that corresponds with the 6-year medical school curriculum as a whole, expansion of elective courses and the development of personalized curriculum for the improvement of students’ learning motives, expansion of social sciences and humanities curriculum for the development of students’ capabilities as good doctors, active participation of medical professors in premedical education, and expansion of informal education and the student support program. According to the assessment done after the implementation of the reformed curriculum, premedical students were gratified with its establishment and management of multifarious liberal arts and major subjects. In preparation of the more rigorous entrance quota of the premedical school at SNUCM, there is ongoing reform of required major subjects and establishment of new subjects in the premedical curriculum in pursuit of unity with the 6-year medical curriculum. Moreover, there is ongoing development of an e-portfolio system for the association of premedical and medical education, integration of formal and informal curriculum, and reinforcement of student observation and formative evaluation. Further discussion on the assessment and betterment of premedical curriculum is needed.

A Study of the Historical Development and Directions of Premedical Education

Despite the importance of how the premedical education curriculum is organized, the basic direction of the curriculum has not been evaluated at a fundamental level. In order to explore the basic directions of the premedical education curriculum, this study examined medical education as a university education, the historical basis of premedical education, and the direction of the premedical education curriculum. Historically, as medical education was incorporated into the university education system, premedical education developed based on basic science and liberal arts education. Accordingly, the direction of the premedical education curriculum began to split into two approaches: one believing in a basic science-based education intended to serve as the foundation of medical training, and the other believing in a liberal arts-based education intended to cultivate the qualities of a doctor. In recent years, however, the binary division in the direction of premedical education has ceased to exist, and the paradigm has now shifted to an agreement that premedical education must cultivate the basic scientific competence required for learning medical knowledge as well as the social qualities that a doctor should have, which are cultivated through the liberal arts. Furthermore, it has been asserted that the direction of premedical education should move toward the qualities that will be required in the future. With the fourth industrial revolution underway, the role of doctors is now being re-examined. This means that today’s medical education must change in a future-oriented way, and the direction of the premedical education curriculum must be on the same page.

How Can We Improve Premedical Education in Korea?

When a new educational system for college students in South Korea was established in 1946, the National Committee for Educational Planning adopted a 6-year curriculum of medical education, consisting of a 2-year premedical component and a 4-year medical component. For more than half a century, the premedical curriculum has received little attention. However, it is very important for premedical students to have a range of experiences that could be useful in their future medical careers. In 2005, another change was made to the system of medical education, in which medical schools without a 2-year premedical curriculum were established. This began to stimulate interest in premedical education, and more and more professors have become interested in premedical education as 6-year medical colleges have become more popular than before. Since 2015, the Education and Cultural Center of the Korean Association of Medical Colleges has annually hosted a workshop for redesigning premedical education; these workshops quickly fill up with registrants, reflecting the participants’ lively interest in premedical education. The problems of premedical education are mostly due to students’ and educators’ attitudes. A more effective approach will be needed in the educational system of the future to train highly competent medical doctors. To judge whether an educational program is successful, its aims must be clearly articulated. For this reason, medical colleges must prepare premedical education curricula based on their educational aims. It is expected that the system of premedical education will be strengthened in the future due to the growing awareness of its importance.

Introduction of Premedical Curriculum at the College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea

Premed education in the college of medicine at the Catholic University of Korea aims to promote student creativity and excellence in accordance with the mission of the college: to have a sense of calling, leadership, and competency. The Catholic Medical College premed curriculum includes 75 credits which are composed of 65 credits for required courses and 10 credits for elective courses. It consists of courses in basic science, medical science, liberal arts and humanities (premedical OMNIBUS). It also involves community programs in ‘Vision and Mission,’ ‘Leadership Training,’ and ‘Academic Conference.’ In addition, students are allowed self-directed choice of their courses and learning for one quarter.

Promoting Information Literacy of Pre-Medical Students through Project-Based Learning: A Pilot Study

This study describes the implementation of information literacy (IL) skills through the use of the project-based learning (PjBL) method in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. Participants were Arabic speaking students enrolled in the Foundation Program that prepares them for the premedical curriculum in a U.S. medical college in the State of Qatar. A mixed methods approach consisting of a survey, three focus groups, and instructors' observations was used to gather the needed data. The results showed a significant increase in students' advanced research skills. This study emphasizes the benefit of using the PjBL method to develop students' IL skills. It also reinforces the vital role of faculty-librarian partnership in designing learning activities that engage students, foster their critical thinking, and develop their metacognitive skills.