This is a time of unprecedented change in medical education around the world. Medical schools, postgraduate bodies and other organisations are responding to rapid advances in medicine, changes in healthcare delivery and public and governmental expectations, new education approaches, and technology and globalisation with greater doctor mobility. Differences in geography, culture, history and resources lead to diversity among education systems in the responses to these pressures. There is a need to exchange information about educational approaches from different situations, to learn from the experiences of others and how they have overcome the challenges they have faced. There is a growing interest in sharing best practices through the expanding literature on medical education and the increasing participation in international conferences such as the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) annual conference, which attracts more than 3,500 participants from over 100 countries. This book offers a unique perspective on how we can respond to the contemporary challenges that are common to educators internationally and also unique to different regions with variable resource limitations.
The Routledge International Handbook of Medical Education recognises and addresses the tensions between approaches to solutions relating to broad and general international practice and local adaptive approaches and solutions that meet the needs of different regions with different resources, cultures, healthcare delivery systems and politics. It recognises the need to maintain established successful practices when appropriate and to respond adaptively to the challenges facing healthcare and medical education with the possibility of disruptive innovation. The Handbook also recognises tension between being prescriptive with precise guidelines and specifications about what needs to be done and elicitation and distillation of the principles that enable a school to develop their own ‘fit for function’ solutions to their challenges. The Routledge International Handbook of Medical Education offers a unique international perspective based on 97 case studies that recognise and value cultural differences and their contributions and impact on medical education.
The book is a unique resource illustrative of best practices in medical education addressing regional and global challenges around the world. The book speaks directly to teachers, administrators and managers, researchers and policy makers in diverse scenarios working to improve medical education and to improve the health of societies. It aims to stimulate educators of present and future healthcare professionals to benchmark their own programmes. Leading authorities from different regions focus on present and future directions for medical education, and on a research agenda for health education practices and policy development. The chapter authors and case study contributors bring a rich and robust international perspective to the work and assure the relevance of the book to contemporary challenges among a wide range of stakeholders. The editors of the book have collaborated with chapter authors to synthesise and highlight best practices and to build on the case studies to frame current and future directions that promote sustainability and the adaptability of medical education.
The book is organised into seven parts: (1) the mission of the medical school; (2) the student; (3) the curriculum; (4) teaching and learning; (5) assessment; (6) the medical school; and (7) the future of medical education.
The chapters in each part outline key themes and issues relating to the topic while introducing different regional approaches and strategies that constitute best practice for a given set of problems through integrated case studies illustrating the diversity of practices in the face of regional and global changes. There are contributions from 199 authors from 26 countries across all regions of the globe.
Part 1: The mission of the medical school opens with a chapter by Trevor Gibbs exploring how the mission of medical schools has changed over the last century to include a growing emphasis on social accountability and responsibility, with illustrative case studies from Tunisia, Australia, Canada and the Philippines. The theme of change continues in Chapter 2 by Stefan Lindgren and David Gordon, who consider the evolving role of the doctor and the future competencies that will be required. Issues such as professionalism, the needs of society, lifelong learning and the global role of the doctor are discussed, with a case study from India. Ronald M. Harden takes up the theme and discusses the recent move to outcome- or competency-based education, with case studies from Switzerland, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, the USA and Saudi Arabia. This section concludes with a chapter by Victor Lim and colleagues exploring issues arising in relation to determining the number of medical students who should be admitted to study in different countries, with case studies from Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
Part 2: The student begins with a chapter by Trudie Roberts and Tadahiko Kozu, who consider the comparative advantages of different entry points for medical students, with case studies from Australia, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UK and South Korea. Jon Dowell explores approaches and considerations for student selection given differing workforce needs and requirements across the globe, with case studies from Pakistan, the UK, Canada and the Netherlands. Khalid A. Bin Abdulrahman and Catherine Kennedy examine the growing emphasis being placed in many medical schools on student engagement within the institutions, curriculum, academic and local communities, with case studies from Finland, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates and Ireland. Athol Kent and Chivaugn Gordon consider the benefits and challenges of the increasing internationalisation of medical education and student mobility, drawing on the experience of contrasting approaches in South Africa.
Curriculum is the focus for Part 3: The curriculum of the book, with an opening chapter by Ronald M. Harden on planning curriculum in the 21st century. Key themes explored include authenticity, collaboration and the changing role of students and teachers, with case studies from the UK, Mozambique and Peru. The issue of authenticity is picked up by Hossam Hamdy, who compares different approaches to learning with case studies from Egypt, Bahrain, Malaysia, Peru and the United Arab Emirates. Ruy Souza and Antonio Sansevero examine contrasting approaches to the early integration of clinical experience with case studies from Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Egypt and the USA.
Integration continues as the key theme of Part 3, with chapters by Regina Helena Petroni Mennin on community-based medical education, with case studies from Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil; Stewart Mennin on the integration of the sciences basic to medicine within the whole curriculum, with contributions from Malaysia, Argentina and Saudi Arabia; and Dawn Forman and Betsy VanLeit on interprofessional education highlighted by examples from Australia, the Philippines, Kenya, New Zealand and Egypt.
Part 4: Teaching and learning addresses teaching and learning and contains chapters by Stewart Mennin, who considers how learning can be made more effective by combining theory and practice, with case studies from the USA and Singapore; and John Sandars, who explores ways in which new technologies can contribute to successful education programmes with cases from the UK, South Africa, USA, Uganda and Singapore.
Part 5: Assessment contains three chapters on assessment, beginning with a chapter by Lambert Schuwirth, who investigates the implementation of meaningful assessment with illustrative case studies from Saudi Arabia, Austria and the UK. Reg Dennick explores the range of computer-based objective written tests and Vanessa C. Burch examines the assessment of clinical competence with case studies from the UK, Argentina, Chile and Saudi Arabia.
Part 6: The medical school considers the future role of medical schools in the context of the enormous changes that have occurred in recent decades. John Hamilton and Shajahan Yasin examine the implications of the increasing internationalisation of medical education and the practical, contextual and cultural considerations with case studies from Malaysia and a US/Australian joint medical degree. David Wilkinson considers the issues of sustainability for medical schools, picking up the discussion of the importance of social accountability from Chapter 1. Khalid A. Bin Abdulrahman and Trevor Gibbs highlight the importance of leadership. The role of faculty development and question of recognition of teaching excellence are explored by Deborah Simpson, Maryellen E. Gusic and M. Brownell Anderson, supported by case studies from the USA, Pakistan and Singapore. Dan Hunt and colleagues conclude this part with an examination of accreditation and programme evaluation in that context, with case studies from the USA, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia.
The Routledge International Handbook of Medical Education concludes with a final chapter by Stewart Mennin, looking to the future of medical education and some of the key questions and challenges to be faced.
The Routledge International Handbook of Medical Education has been designed to be read in a number of different ways to suit the needs and demands of the readers. Each chapter is standalone and can be read and understood by itself. Relevant cross-reference is made to other chapters in the book when an issue arises that may be dealt with in further detail elsewhere. A subject index is available at the end of the book so that readers are able to dip in and out of chapters to suit their needs. The case studies provided in the book have been placed within chapters to demonstrate how a major theme is illustrated. However, most case studies, in medical education, as in life, can be related to more than one theme or issue and it is recommended that the reader takes the time to explore the range of practices demonstrated in the case studies to gain a truly global picture. Each chapter ends with a number of ‘take-home messages’ that summarise the key themes and issues that arise in the chapter.