Curriculum Development for Medical Education A Six Step

Curriculum Development for Medical Education: A Six Step Approach Section 1: Problem Identification David Kern Patricia Thomas Donna Howard Eric Bass John Hopkins University Press , 1998

Contents § Step 1 Problem Identification and General Needs Assessment § Step 2 Needs Assessment for Targeted Learners § Step 3 Goals and Objectives § Step 4 Educational Strategies § Step 5 Implementation § Step 6 Evaluation and Feedback

Goals of This Presentation § Why is problem identification important in curriculum design? § What curricular elements need to be included? § How to compare a curricular problem with an ideal solution. § Completion of exercise 1

Step 1 a problem Identification : § The first step is to identified the health problem or learning problem that needs to be addressed in your practice. This could be a disease state that has emerged in your population, a national epidemic, or a well known health problem that you feel is not being satisfactorily addressed in your current curriculum.

Complete Problem Identification § Who does the problem effect: § Patient § Learners § Medical Educators

What does it effect? § What does it effect § Clinical outcomes § Educational effectiveness § Educational outcomes § QOL § Other health care resources

How big is the problem? § To what extent is this a problem in my practice ? § High Priority § Medium Priority § Low Priority

What is the current status? § What is current being done about it ? § Does anyone else have the same pedagogical problems ? § How are they resolving them ? § Where are sources of possible solutions?

Are there barriers to solution? § What are the barriers to problem resolution? § Time , § Personnel § Money § Knowledge § Community issues KNOWING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR CURRICULUM IS NOT ENOUGH , ONE MUST KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKES IT A PROBLEM

Step 1 b : ideal solution § Now if you have unlimited resources , students, faculty, instructional materials, time and money, how would you best solve this curricular problem? § This step will give you the basic idea of resources that you will need to solve the problem, even if all of them are not within your reach.

General Needs Assessment § The difference between the actual and ideal curriculum model is the general needs assessment, it will provide an idea of your needed resources

Exercise 1 § Identify one curricular problem you are experiencing, including: § Who does the problem effect ? § What is the extent of the problem? § Have other medical educators faced and solved the same problem? § What are the barriers to successful solution?