Learning of medical English and academic curricular reform in medicine

English is indispensable in the field of science and especially in medicine: it is the predominant language of publications and medical bibliographic databases. In addition, the training of competent physicians and the foundation of a socially responsible faculty of medicine and in order to comply with the international standards stipulated by the accreditation and certification of faculties of medicine, the Faculty of Medicine of Sousse- Tunisia initiated a curriculum revision leading to the setting up of a working group to reform the "Medical English" system.

To identify the deficiencies of the academic learning of medical English following a rigorous analysis of the specificities of the teaching, to make the diagnosis of the current situation and to propose the required recommendations.

The analysis of the so far medical English teaching process at the Faculty of Medicine of Sousse was approached by coupling the two methods related to the cause and effect: the SWOT (Strength-Weaknesses / Opportunities-Threats) methodology and the diagram of Ichikawa.

Our analysis revealed a lack of effectiveness for various reasons related to the lack of identification of learning needs by levels in a clear and precise manner, a quantitative and qualitative insufficiencyof hourly volume with an inadequate distribution compared to the other disciplines and content not updated. Thus,a shortfall ininnovative human and material resources.

The learning of medical English must be upgraded in order to improve skills and promote the quality of health care.