Management studies in medical education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• The World Health Assembly's "Health For All" goal and resolution WHA 48.8 emphasized reorienting medical education.
• The World Health Organisation identified the "5-star doctor" as crucial for achieving health equity, requiring skills in management, quality assurance, and health economics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the New Integrated Curriculum (NIC) at the University of Malaya's Faculty of Medicine.
• To assess the NIC's effectiveness in producing doctors equipped with the "5-star doctor" competencies.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a 5-year New Integrated Curriculum (NIC) with three study strands: Scientific Basis of Medicine (SBM), Doctor, Patient, Health and Society (DPHS), and Personal and Professional Development (PPD).
• Integration of "5-star doctor" elements within the DPHS and PPD strands, including management studies.
• Development of the "Principles of Management in Health Care Services (PMGT)" module, incorporating self, resource, and people management, alongside a three-week field program.
• Evaluation conducted at the end of Phase IIIA of the NIC program.

Main Results:

• The New Integrated Curriculum (NIC) successfully integrated "5-star doctor" competencies into medical training.
• The curriculum's structure, including the PMGT module and field program, facilitated the development of essential management and professional skills.
• Evaluation indicates the NIC approach is effective in cultivating holistic medical practitioners.

Conclusions:

• The New Integrated Curriculum (NIC) at the University of Malaya is a successful model for training "5-star doctors".
• This approach fosters holistic medical practice, producing competent team players, leaders, communicators, and effective managers.
• The NIC aligns medical education with global public health objectives like "Health For All".