Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates
Abstract Background Healthcare systems rely on well-trained family medicine physicians who can offer continuous quality services to their communities and beyond. The American Academy of Family Physicians and the World Organization of Family Doctors recommend that medical curricula should have adequa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05134-6 |
| _version_ | 1827310145746501632 |
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| author | Nabil Sulaiman Sarra Shorbagi Salman Yousuf Guraya |
| author_facet | Nabil Sulaiman Sarra Shorbagi Salman Yousuf Guraya |
| author_sort | Nabil Sulaiman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Healthcare systems rely on well-trained family medicine physicians who can offer continuous quality services to their communities and beyond. The American Academy of Family Physicians and the World Organization of Family Doctors recommend that medical curricula should have adequately supervised education and training of the learners in family medicine during their preclinical and clinical placements. However, some medical schools don’t have a comprehensive family medicine program to prepare graduates who can meet the community needs. This work aims to report the essential steps for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program at the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah in United Arab Emirates. Methods We used the Kern’s 6-step model to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program. This includes problem identification, needs assessment, goals setting, educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation. During 2014–2022, we longitudinally collected essential information about the family medicine program from different stakeholders including the feedback of clinical coordinators, adjunct clinical faculty, and medical students at the end-of-clerkship. All responses were analysed to determine the effective implementation and evaluation of the family medicine program. Results Over the course of 8 academic years, 804 medical students, 49 adjunct clinical faculty and three College of Medicine faculty participated in the evaluation of the family medicine program. The majority of respondents were satisfied with various aspects of the family medicine program, including the skills gained, the organisation of program, and the variety of clinical encounters. The medical students and adjunct clinical faculty suggested the inclusion of e-clinics, faculty development program, and the expansion of more clinical sites for the effectiveness of the family medicine program. Conclusions We report a successful development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program in United Arab Emirates with a positive and impactful learning experience. More attention should be paid towards a suitable representation of family medicine program in the medical curriculum with focused and targeted educational plans for medical students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:54:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b59a8b7298845d794b2f0105afecff3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:54:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b59a8b7298845d794b2f0105afecff32024-03-24T12:24:12ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-03-0124111010.1186/s12909-024-05134-6Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab EmiratesNabil Sulaiman0Sarra Shorbagi1Salman Yousuf Guraya2Department of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Science, College of Medicine, University of SharjahDepartment of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Science, College of Medicine, University of SharjahDepartment of Clinical Science, College of Medicine, University of SharjahAbstract Background Healthcare systems rely on well-trained family medicine physicians who can offer continuous quality services to their communities and beyond. The American Academy of Family Physicians and the World Organization of Family Doctors recommend that medical curricula should have adequately supervised education and training of the learners in family medicine during their preclinical and clinical placements. However, some medical schools don’t have a comprehensive family medicine program to prepare graduates who can meet the community needs. This work aims to report the essential steps for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program at the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah in United Arab Emirates. Methods We used the Kern’s 6-step model to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program. This includes problem identification, needs assessment, goals setting, educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation. During 2014–2022, we longitudinally collected essential information about the family medicine program from different stakeholders including the feedback of clinical coordinators, adjunct clinical faculty, and medical students at the end-of-clerkship. All responses were analysed to determine the effective implementation and evaluation of the family medicine program. Results Over the course of 8 academic years, 804 medical students, 49 adjunct clinical faculty and three College of Medicine faculty participated in the evaluation of the family medicine program. The majority of respondents were satisfied with various aspects of the family medicine program, including the skills gained, the organisation of program, and the variety of clinical encounters. The medical students and adjunct clinical faculty suggested the inclusion of e-clinics, faculty development program, and the expansion of more clinical sites for the effectiveness of the family medicine program. Conclusions We report a successful development, implementation, and evaluation of the family medicine program in United Arab Emirates with a positive and impactful learning experience. More attention should be paid towards a suitable representation of family medicine program in the medical curriculum with focused and targeted educational plans for medical students.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05134-6Family medicineMedical studentsMedical curriculumKern’s model |
| spellingShingle | Nabil Sulaiman Sarra Shorbagi Salman Yousuf Guraya Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates BMC Medical Education Family medicine Medical students Medical curriculum Kern’s model |
| title | Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_full | Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_fullStr | Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_short | Development, implementation, and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_sort | development implementation and evaluation of an undergraduate family medicine program in the united arab emirates |
| topic | Family medicine Medical students Medical curriculum Kern’s model |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05134-6 |
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