MED-NET Conferences 1998, Lille & 1999, Maastricht
Anthology of presentations 3.3.
3.3 Innovations at the medical school
T. Knag (Tromsoe, Norway)
Multi Professional Course |
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insight into the challenges of being a health worker |
One student |
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How to utilise the university hospital |
One bed |
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ease the access to the hospital at an early stage in the medical study |
Organ courses |
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fewer lectures, more student activities |
Skill laboratory |
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perfection of skills |
Short overview of the medical school at the University in Tromsoe
The University of Tromsoe was established in 1972. One of the many reasons for establishing the university was to supply the northern region with professionals. It is a fact that people tend to go on working in the region where they get the education. The northern part of Norway imported quite a lot of professionals, who tended to stay for a limited period of time. By establishing a medical school, the region would solve their lack of doctors. For the first years 40 students were admitted. Later on the intake was extended to 60 and the over the last 5 years 70 students have been enrolled.
Main objective: Educating doctors for the northern region of Norway.
The medical curriculum differs from the traditional medical curricula (pre-clinical/ clinical).
6 years:
stage I (1 year) Introduction (basic science)
stage II (3 years) 17 organ courses (basic science/clinical medicine and community medicine. Integration)
stage III (1 year) Clinical training outside Tromsoe (Local hospital/rural regions)
stage IV (1 year) University Hospital
UiTř: small university, close contact student/professor, extended student democracy.
Evaluation
At the Medical school there is an ongoing evaluation of the courses. After each course both students and teachers give a written evaluation report of the course. An open meeting is arranged where students and teachers meet to discuss out of the course. What was good/bad, etc. Course objectives corresponding with lectures, exercises, written material? How to improve the course/recommendations is also brought forward.
Revision
Background
- extension of student intake to 70 students
- students' and teachers' evaluation reports on the medical curriculum
Multi professional course in co-operation with the College of Health Care Education. Students from 8 graduate educational programmes follow an introductory course for 8 weeks in their first year of study.
Objective
To give an insight into the tasks and challenges of the health service as a common background for being a health worker, to motivate and to develop competence for co-operation. The core of the education is PBL in multi-professional groups.
Mixed acceptance by both students and teachers. Time consuming. Requires quite a lot of tutors (groups of 10 students - about 20 groups).
Main tasks: more student activating activities, more evaluation of skills, more tuition.
Hospital - how to utilise it?
One student - one bed
Objective:
- Make the university hospital a natural part of the student's daily life.
- Ease the access to the hospital at an early stage in the medical study
- To make the students utilise the clinical material available in the clinic.
How
Each student is allocated a bed that is his/hers. Take part in examinations, treatments, etc. of the patient lying in it.
Staff to supply them with relevant information asked for
One contact person in the department. Requested to have a meeting of about one or half an hour a week to discuss any clinical, administrative problems
Not compulsory, no formal obligations. They are free to come when they feel it fits in with the ordinary time schedule, but are requested to pop in for a short period of time every day
The student is supposed to take an active part.
Students' experiences
- Mostly very positive all in all
- Had a legitimate reason for being there
- Learnt a lot, like examination techniques, how the department is organised, how other health workers in the department co-operate
- Not the least: Got an insight in the hospital routines through the patient's eyes. Training in talking with patients who often were left with many questions after the doctor visited the bed
- Regretted that not all contact persons found the time for weekly meetings
- Some students decided to follow the patient in the different departments instead of sticking to just one bed. Others picked out patients that they found "interesting". Students therefore recommend a flexible system
- Half a year is enough. Others had a bad conscience about their patient, they did not have the time, it interfered with exam preparations, reading, etc. Should be offered to students in semesters with no examination prep.
Successfulness is dependent on how active the student is.
Staff experience
- Positive, but: time consuming - Need for more resources
Organ courses
- More student activity
- Less lectures, more seminars:
How did the students accept this?
Mixed:
Evaluation reports both positive and negative.
The organ courses that had been thoroughly prepared were well accepted by the students.
While other courses missing some parts (objectives not corresponding to course material, exercises, written papers, and seminar papers/group works did not function) Students called for an open meeting. Invited the local press - uproar: Innovation is in deterioration! We don't want to be Guinea Pigs! Give us the real lectures back, so that we can learn something.
How did the staff accept this?
Teachers: Preferred lectures, as attendance in seminars, etc, took more time of their compulsory duty (weighting of lectures versus weighting of seminars). There was resistance by some course holders. Delayed the working out of course materials. "The course is good as it is". Lost their "freedom", felt they were being steered from above.
Skill laboratory
The Skill Laboratory is not frequented so much by the students as we had hoped for. Has perhaps still not found its right place in place in the organ courses, but we are working on it. It is open most of the day for students. Need more resources like CD-ROM, enthusiastic teachers?, etc.
Where are we now?
One student one bed will continue.
Organ courses: We have come to a halt and concentrate now on course objectives, thorough course descriptions, course materials, reading lists.
We are trying to engage two teachers to follow up/co-ordinate the revision. Very difficult to find .....
Future plans
Further revision of the organ courses must continue.
"One client two students" will be introduced in the Multi-professional course.
Out-patients' department for students
Experiences - it's a long way to go.
It is difficult to have a thorough revision without additional funds/resources. (training of teachers, etc.)
- A need for close co-operation with the teachers/students/administrators
- A need for enthusiasm. Belief in revision.
Medical research gives far more merit than working with teaching methods and curricula.
ISBN Number 90.805758.1.X
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