Personal Accountability of Medical Students in Medical Education

Lee, Young Hwan

Abstract

Producing graduates with sufficient practical competency is the main mission of every educational institution. Following the accreditation of the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation, medical schools have been stepping up efforts to establish curriculum that reflects the practical value of medical education and the importance of adapting to the practice of graduates in order to increase the accountability of medical education in Korea each year. To this end, all medical schools have recently made efforts to develop diverse policies to strengthen the social accountability of medical education along with the transition to a competency-based curriculum. In line with this trend, the institutional accountability of medical education as well as the personal accountability of students, the main subjects of learning, should be highlighted, and educational activities to foster accountability need to be specified. Personal accountability in medical students involves recognizing their social accountability as future doctors and understanding and practicing student accountability. To achieve this, medical schools should provide programs that support and teach practical application of skills, and students need to define and attempt specific activities to strengthen their accountability.