Collaboration in curriculum design: preparing educational programs for Australian rural medical practitioners

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Curriculum Development
• Rural Health Training

Background:

• The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Faculty of Rural Medicine sought to develop advanced training curricula.
• Existing training programs required specialized content in surgery, anesthesia, and obstetrics for rural settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the methodology employed by curriculum design consultants for the Rural Medicine Curriculum Design Project.
• To develop distinct curricula for surgery, anesthesia, and obstetrics within the RACGP Rural Training Program.
• To synthesize key features of the design process as a transferable guide.

Main Methods:

• Consultative process involving curriculum design specialists.
• Collaborative development of specialized training modules.
• Synthesis of design principles for intergroup consensus building.

Main Results:

• Successfully designed separate curricula for advanced training in surgery, anesthesia, and obstetrics.
• Established a structured process for curriculum development in rural medicine.
• Identified critical success factors for achieving agreement across diverse stakeholder groups.

Conclusions:

• The presented curriculum design process effectively addressed the specific needs of rural medicine advanced training.
• The synthesized process offers valuable insights for managing complex curriculum development projects.
• The developed curricula enhance the Rural Training Program of the RACGP Faculty of Rural Medicine.