Last update:
   12-May-2011
 

Arch Hellen Med, 28(3), May-June 2011, 369-379

ORIGINAL PAPER

If you could change one thing in your school, what would this be? 469 suggestions of 429 medical graduates

X. Tseretopoulou,1 T. Tzamalis,1 G. Bazoukis,1 G. Lyrakos,2 C. Gogos,3 K. Thermos,4
 K.N. Malizos,5 A. Benos,6 I. Papadopoulos,7 I. Pneumatikos,8 K. Siamopoulos,9 I. Dimoliatis1
1Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina,
2Second Department of Anesthesiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
3Section of Infection Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Patras, Patra,
4Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Herakleion,
5Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa,
6Laboratory of Hygiene, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki,
7Fourth Department of Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
8Intensive Care Unit, Peripheral General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis,
9Department of Nephrology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

OBJECTIVE The I CAN! questionnaire is an instrument for measuring the outcomes of medical curricula, based mainly on the Tuning project. The questionnaire is under construction and validation. It consists of 105 closed questions and the open question "if you could change one thing in your school, what would this be?". This paper presents the responses of medical graduates to this open question.

METHOD The questionnaire was distributed to the graduates of six medical schools in Greece during the summer and autumn 2009 graduation periods, and to residents and specialist doctors during a primary health care conference in Greece (5.2.2010). The responses to the open question were grouped into categories and subcategories according to their conceptual content, and their frequency was calculated.

RESULTS Questionnaires were collected from 408 new graduates of six medical schools (357 and 51 during Educathe summer and autumn graduations, respectively): 45% male, 55% female; from Athens 148 (48% of its graduates), Thrace 38 (81%), Ioannina 12 (17%), Crete 32 (47%), and Thessaly 31 (100%). In addition, 21 questionnaires were collected from residents and specialist doctors. A total of 469 changes were proposed, related mainly to the curriculum (212) and teachers (215), and fewer to other elements of the educational environment (42). The suggestions included: increase in practical exercises (129) and clinical experience (8), introduction of practical subjects (21), exclusion of highly specialized subjects (12), changes in the timetable (6), the way of teaching (108), the method of student assessment (62), and the attitude (31) and selection (14) of the teachers. Only a few suggested changes were related to students' issues (10) and the administration of their school (30).

CONCLUSIONS The majority of suggestions of the medical graduates recommended curriculum reform and a student-centered attitude from the teachers. The findings of this study, which are similar to those previously derived from students (80% preclinical) from the same medical schools, support the precept that changes in the medical curricula in Greece are essential, and may provide the impetus for immediate action by the medical faculties.

Key words: Educational environment/climate, Graduates, Greece, Medical education, Outcome, Outcome-based education, Questionnaire I CAN!, Students.

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