J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2011;8:10.

Conducting correlation seminars in basic sciences at KIST Medical College, Nepal

• Shankar PR

Abstract

KIST Medical College is a new medical school in Lalitpur, Nepal. In Nepal, six basic science subjects are taught together in an integrated organ system-based manner with early clinical exposure and community medicine. Correlation seminars are conducted at the end of covering each organ system. The topics are decided by the core academic group (consisting of members from each basic science department, the Department of Community Medicine, the academic director, and the clinical and program coordinators) considering the public health importance of the condition and its ability to include learning objectives from a maximum number of subjects. The learning objectives are decided by individual departments and finalized after the meeting of the core group. There are two student coordinators for each seminar and an evaluation group evaluates each seminar and presenter. Correlation seminars help students revise the organ system covered and understand its clinical importance, promote teamwork and organization, and supports active learning. Correlation seminars should be considered as a learning modality by other medical schools.

Keyword

Educational measurement; Learning; Medical school; Nepal; Undergraduate medical education

MeSH Terms

Community Medicine
Education, Medical, Undergraduate
Educational Measurement
Humans
Learning
Nepal
Problem-Based Learning
Public Health
Schools, Medical

Reference

1. Medical Education Department, Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine. Curriculum for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine;2008.

2. Shankar PR, Jha N, Bajracharya O, Shrestha R, Thapa HS. Teaching pharmacology at a Nepalese Medical School: the student perspective. Australas Med J. 2010; 1:14–22.

3. Puckett AC Jr, Graham DG, Pounds LA, Nash FT. The Duke University program for integrating ethics and human values into medical education. Acad Med. 1989; 64:231–5.

4. Banerjee I, Jauhari AC, Johorey AC, Gyawali S, Saha A. Student’s accreditation of integrated medical education in Nepal. Asian J Med Sci. 2011; 2:49–52.

5. Shankar R. Promoting integrated learning and open-book examinations in South Asian medical schools. Webmed Central Med Educ. 2010; 1:WMC00608.

6. Chapagain ML, Bhattacharya N, Jain BK, Kaini KR, Koirala S, Jayawickramarajah PT. Introducing problem-based learning into an organ system programme. Med Teach. 1998; 20:587–9.

7. Shankar PR, Piryani RM, Upadhyay-Dhungel K. Student feedback on the use of paintings in Sparshanam, the Medical Humanities module at KIST Medical College, Nepal. BMC Med Educ. 2011; 11:9.