Innovative programmes of medical education: I. Case studies

This paper discusses five innovative programmes in medical education with the view of giving a glimpse of the new approaches to the education of physicians. Each one of them has unique features and provides useful lessons. The School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton (Canada), pioneered the use of interdisciplinary problem based learning. The programme obliterates the basic science and clinical science dichotomy, and involves self-directed, small group (tutorial) learning as the principal educational method. Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke (Canada) shows the way for introduction of innovative problem-based curriculum in a traditional medical school. The University Centre for Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva (Israel), serves as the nodal point of the health care system in the region. Merging of the service and the educational systems has not only succeeded in better community orientation of graduates, but also in improving the health care availability in the region. The University of Philippines, College of Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Tacloban (Philippines), trains grassroot workers as well as physicians. Through a ladder-type curriculum, a health worker can rise to become a doctor of medicine. The Chulalongkorn University Medical School, Bangkok, Thailand, has successfully run a parallel innovative track for students of rural background. The students are identified from the underserved areas, and are given a large part of their clinical training at the provincial/district hospitals. The programme has succeeded in inculcating favourable attitudes towards working in rural areas, and in improving the care at provincial/district hospitals. These innovative programmes have emerged as role-models for bold experimentation in medical education.