Improving Breast Cancer Education: The Case of an Evolving Multidisciplinary Module for Undergraduate Medical Students (Lausanne Medical School, 1993-2008)

Breast cancer is a public health issue in numerous countries. Multidisciplinary collaboration is required for patient care, research, and also education of future physicians. This paper uses Kern's framework for curriculum design to demonstrate how a breast diseases module for undergraduate medical students created in 1993 evolved over 15years. The main outcomes of program refinements were better integrated course content, the development of electronic course documents, and implementation of computer-aided small group learning. A main future challenge is to further develop efficient instructional strategies in line with well-defined learning needs for undergraduate student

Improving breast cancer education: the case of an evolving multidisciplinary module for undergraduate medical students (lausanne medical school, 1993-2008).

Breast cancer is a public health issue in numerous countries. Multidisciplinary collaboration is required for patient care, research, and also education of future physicians. This paper uses Kern's framework for curriculum design to demonstrate how a breast diseases module for undergraduate medical students created in 1993 evolved over 15 years. The main outcomes of program refinements were better integrated course content, the development of electronic course documents, and implementation of computer-aided small group learning. A main future challenge is to further develop efficient instructional strategies in line with well-defined learning needs for undergraduate students

The "Profiles" document: a modern revision of the objectives of undergraduate medical studies in Switzerland

The Joint Commission of the Swiss Medical Schools (SMIFK/CIMS) decided in 2000 to establish a Swiss Catalogue of Learning Objectives (SCLO) for undergraduate medical training, which was adapted from a similar Dutch blueprint. A second version of the SCLO was developed and launched in 2008. The catalogue is a prerequisite for the accreditation of the curricula of the six Swiss medical faculties and defines the contents of the Federal Licensing Examination (FLE). Given the evolution of the field of medicine and of medical education, the SMIFK/CIMS has decided to embark on a total revision of the SCLO. This article presents the proposed structure and content of Profiles, a new document which, in the future, will direct the format of undergraduate studies and of the FLE. Profiles stands for the Principal Relevant Objectives for Integrative Learning and Education in Switzerland. It is currently being developed by a group of experts from the six Swiss faculties as well as representatives of other institutions involved in these developments. The foundations of Profiles are grounded in the evolution of medical practice and of public health and are based on up-to-date teaching concepts, such as EPAs (entrustable professional activities). An introduction will cover the concepts and a tutorial will be displayed. Three main chapters will provide a description of the seven 2015 CanMEDS roles, a list of core EPAs and a series of ≈250 situations embracing the most frequent and current conditions affecting health. As Profiles is still a work in progress, it is hoped that this paper will attract the interest of all individuals involved in the training of medical students

Workshops for developing written exam questions go online: appropriate format according to the participants.

Background: The Corona pandemic has made it difficult to conduct face-to-face events, which is why two workshops planned for the development of multiple choice (MC) questions were conducted online. Whether the online format is suitable for MC question development has not yet been described to our knowledge. Questions: The study aimed to answer the following questions from the perspective of the participants: How are the two online workshops evaluated in terms of their implementation? Are these online workshops suitable for developing MC questions? Is the online or face-to-face format preferred? As a measure of efficiency, it was examined whether the expected question output (standard of comparable face-to-face workshops) was achieved in the online workshops. Methods: In May and June 2020, two online workshops with a total of 24 participants were conducted for Swiss professional societies with SWITCHinteract. The participants' feedback was collected via an anonymous online survey with 21 questions. Results: 88% of the participants took part in the voluntary online survey. The participants were satisfied with the implementation and found the online format suitable. The majority of the participants did not show a preference for a certain format (online vs. face-to-face), although in case of a format preference the online format was indicated more often. The expected question output was exceeded in both workshops. Technical aspects were most frequently cited as requiring improvement. Conclusion: Based on the results, online workshops for MC question development can be considered as a resource-saving and efficient alternative to face-to-face workshops. Increased use and optimization of online tools could further facilitate implementation and influence the format preference