Positions Toward Science Studies in Medicine Among University Graduates of Medicine and the Teenaged Participants of the “Medical Systems” Study Program

Orit Ben-Zvi-Assaraf; Chava Even - Israel

doi:10.1007/s10956-010-9255-2

Journal of Science Education and Technology

August 2011, Volume 20, Issue 4, pp 317–332 | Cite as

Positions Toward Science Studies in Medicine Among University Graduates of Medicine and the Teenaged Participants of the “Medical Systems” Study Program

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Orit Ben-Zvi-AssarafEmail author
Chava Even - Israel

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First Online: 22 October 2010

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Abstract

The “Medical Systems” program was designed to introduce high school students to the world of advanced medicine. Its premise was to use an applied scientific discipline like medicine to encourage high-school students’ interest in basic science. This study compares the teen-aged graduates of “Medical Systems” with fourth and fifth-year medical students. It aims to identify the attitudes of these two groups towards medical science and basic sciences in medicine. The population included 94 graduates of “Medical Systems” from schools throughout Israel, who had also completed an advanced-level course in a basic science (biology, chemistry or physics), and 96 medical students from different Israeli universities. The students’ attitudes were measured using West et al.’s questionnaire (Med Educ 16(4):188–191, 1982), which assesses both the attitude of the participants towards basic science knowledge, and their attitude towards their learning experience in medical school. Nine participants from each group were also interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The results showed essential differences in the attitudes of the two groups. The high school students consider scientific knowledge far more essential for a physician than do the medical students, who also showed a far lower estimation of the effectiveness of their science studies.

Keywords

Science studies Medicine Medical systems Attitudes

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Appendix: The Components of the “Medical Systems” Curriculum

The theoretical curriculum in the “Medical Systems” program is based on the PBL method, which has been embraced by many medical schools in the world. The curriculum in the program is comprised of various components. The following is a review of the curriculum’s components and the connection between them and the PBL method.

Structure of the Curriculum

The program studies are comprised of a theoretical section and an implementation-practical section. The structure of both sections is greatly affected by the PBL approach.

A. The Theoretical Section: Studying for 5 Matriculation Points

Goals

* Imparting a “health education” on the basis of up-to-date scientific knowledge.
* Exposing the student to questions and dilemmas the solution of which is based on an integration of the scientific knowledge and technology required for handling medicine’s technological, scientific and ethical problems.
* Understanding the relation between humans, technology and society through exposure to the sciences of health and medicine.
* Exposure to the integration of new medical technologies in preserving health and handling health problems.

The learning subjects include acquaintance with the systems of the healthy human body, preventative medicine, health disorders, illnesses and their treatment (clinical studies and pathology). The curriculum includes learning about the various body systems, such as: the cardio-vascular system, the respiratory system, the digestive system, etc.

For each system in the human body, the sequence of learning is as follows:

A.

Anatomy—physiology.
B.

Preventative medicine.
C.

Clinical studies.

The curriculum in the clinical studies focuses on learning about illnesses according to the following sequence:

1.

Definition of the illness.
2.
Causes:
1. A.
  
  Risk factors (biological and environmental) and their prevention.
2. B.
  
  Causes of the illness.
3.

Symptoms of the illness (objective and subjective signs).
4.

Diagnosis methods.
5.

Medical treatment (goals and treatment methods).

In this sequence, the influence of the PBL approach, in which various disciplines are studied in an integrated way and in one unit, is prominent. Thus, the student is exposed to the comprehensive contents of the basic medical sciences in each system of the human body, unlike the old method, in which each area of the basic medical sciences was studied separately.

The medical knowledge offered by the program is further presented in a clinical context that is accompanied by a case study. In addition to their program studies, the students are required to study at least one increased basic science subject (5 points in biology, physics or chemistry) as a condition for their participation in the program. Such a curriculum presents a holistic approach to the studying of the medical sciences, as well as marking out medicine as an implementation science that is based on the basic sciences.

B. The Implementation Section of the Program Carries Several Components

Clinical Experience

One of the requirements of the program is that the students volunteer for medical groups. The program students volunteer for 2 years at least for a medical group such as the Red Cross, medical services, clinics, etc. The volunteering constitutes a clinical experience for the program students. The goals of the clinical experience are to increase awareness of preventative medicine, of healthy behavior and of saving lives, as well as reinforcing the social aspect of the value of volunteering and of contributing to society. In addition, during the clinical experience the students learn to handle decision-making, to form social and personal values for themselves and to cope with actual dilemmas in the field of health and medicine. In the course of this experience, the students are exposed to new treatments and become acquainted with the essence of implemented science through an acquaintance with its existing and evolving uses.

Visits to Hospitals

These visits constitute an inseparable part of the learning process and of the requirements that are faced by the program students. The hospital visits are integrated in the specific learning subjects, and their purpose is to deepen the students’ knowledge and understanding through an emphasis on the practical aspects of the topic as these are manifested in the hospital. The visit demonstrates and illustrates to the students the various implementational aspects that exist in medicine in relation to the subject being studied. The students participate in a minimum of three hospital visits per year.

Submitting a 5-Point Final Project in “Medical Systems”

The program students write a final paper about a medical case that they have followed. The project includes managing a health problem—prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Like the theoretical section, the practical section is also affected by the PBL approach. The practical experience and the hospital visits emphasizes the implementation-clinical aspect, while the structure of the final project is based on embracing the problem model as the starting point, requiring the students to reach a solution by themselves, on the basis of the knowledge that they have acquired.

The program graduates are entitled—in addition to a full matriculation diploma—to the following diplomas:

Authorized to provide first aid.
Authorized to work with a doctor in a mobile first aid station.
Authorized to work on an Intensive Care Ambulance.
Preference in acceptance to pre-military-service academic studies in the health professions (subject to confirmation by the IDF representative on the committee).
An advantage in acceptance to academic studies in the health professions (a special committee is working to attain a benefit coefficient—recommended by the Association of Medicine Faculties Deans).

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Orit Ben-Zvi-Assaraf
- 1
Email author
Chava Even - Israel
- 1

1.Science and Technology Education DepartmentBen-Gurion University of the NegevBe’er-ShevaIsrael

Positions Toward Science Studies in Medicine Among University Graduates of Medicine and the Teenaged Participants of the “Medical Systems” Study Program

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