Research in medical education

The year 2009 saw a number of developments in Medical Education in Malta that were initiated as a result of a commitment to revising the medical curriculum in order to meet the challenges in medical education. A record number of students were admitted to the medical course in 2009. There is concern that eventually this exponential increase in admissions is not sustainable due to infrastructural, financial and human resource restraints. Meanwhile there has been a simultaneous attempt to re-vamp the first and second year curriculum and to continue to fine tune the curriculum in years three, four and five. Students are now introduced to clinical scenarios as early as during the first year of the medical course and case based learning is being implemented into a modular system of teaching that integrates anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and genetics to ensure a holistic approach to understanding the human body in health and subsequently in disease. It is hoped that such changes will bring the University of Malta Medical School more in line with the ethos of the Bologna process and the European Credit Transfer System.peer-reviewe

Medical education and healthcare needs

Educators in the sphere of medicine face a number of complex challenges in the provision of a learning environment suited to ensuring students acquire essential core competencies as well as additional skills and expertise targeted to their area of practice This needs to be done against a series of standards in medical curricula for quality assurance purposes. Furthermore, in medicine, the concept of life long learning is essential to the further honing of available skills and the acquisition of new expertise relevant to the ever-changing and increasing demands on medical practitioners. Mobility of graduates and doctors has highlighted this, as moving to a different geographical area invariably causes a change in the working environment, the medical problems encountered and the resources available to deal with these issues.peer-reviewe

From bench to bedside and the problem of ensuring equity in healthcare

As part of its commitment to continuing professional development, the Malta Medical Journal is pleased to issue its clinical updates for this year. The latest developments in the fields of respiratory medicine, gastroenterology, obstetrics and gynaecology, urology, emergency medicine and orthopaedics are presented here. The impact of new technologies in the various fields is a tribute to the scientists who make advances in the diagnosis and management of disease and the clinicians who implement these discoveries. The major hurdle to be overcome in a number of institutions and countries worldwide is lack of access to resources and new management options as a result of inadequate facilities, trained personnel and financial restraints. Arebi & Saunders provide us with an example of the targets attainable with the establishment of a facility dedicated to staff development and training, albeit in this instance, in one particular area.peer-reviewe

The Bologna Process and the reform of medical education

In 1988, the Magna Charta Universitatum was signed at a meeting of European University rectors on the occasion of the 900th Anniversary of the University of Bologna to mark their commitment to harmonising the European Higher Education sector. Subsequently in 1999, Ministers of Education from 29 countries were co-signatories to the Bologna declaration. Since that time, the Bologna process has developed from a declaration of commitment to improving education to a process dedicated to standardising education, ensuring quality whilst maintaining the appropriate level of flexibility.peer-reviewe

Career options in Medicine

Students accepted for admission to the MD course at the University of Malta are understandably elated and initially may not appreciate the long-term implications of their choice. Over the last 10 years, a number of medical schools have revised their curriculum thoroughly, providing less formal and didactic teaching and introducing multidisciplinary interactive approaches to problem-based teaching in cognizance of the different challenges undergraduates now face on qualifying. For example, behavioural sciences and the teaching of communication skills to students have been given importance as has evidence-based medicine, public health, palliative care and patient safety. Certain members of the profession may claim such change has been catalysed more by medicolegal issues necessitating the introduction of risk management than by an actual need for the nurturing of these skills among members of the medical profession.peer-reviewe

Brave New Hospital (Apologies to Aldous Huxley)

The migration to Mater Dei Hospital, our state of the art healthcare facility, has been completed. On the 19th of November 2007 the first acutely ill patients were admitted through the emergency department at Mater Dei Hospital! Those involved in the planning and execution of the migration deserve thanks and recognition for their hard work and endeavours in ensuring as smooth a migration as possible.peer-reviewe

Quality healthcare, evidence-based medicine and translational research

Advances in medical care ensure that with the passage of time we are increasingly able to effectively tackle diverse medical problems. These advances, however, do come at a cost and the benefits derived need to be assessed on a regular basis. The ability to increase longevity and hold disease progression at bay needs to be balanced against the ensuing quality of life of the subject, the long term demands on the individual, and on the healthcare system. The financial implications for the individual and the state as well as the ultimate well being of the individual and of society need to be included in the increasingly complex equation that constitutes healthcare provision.peer-reviewe

One year later

A year has elapsed since the University of Malta Medical School moved to its new premises at Mater Dei Hospital in Msida. This move brought the major teaching hospital in Malta in close proximity to the University of Malta. The initial period following the move presented a number of challenges which over the last year have been tackled.peer-reviewe

Medical research and development

To educate is an exciting and highly demanding challenge faced by involved professionals. This is irrespective of the age or ability of the student or whether education is at a primary, secondary or tertiary level. Infrastructural, administrative and financial resources can facilitate matters but much depends on the human resources at hand. Ultimately, the outcome of an educational system is best measured by the level of education achieved by the citizens of a particular country. The provision of well trained reliable professionals to service a country is one criterion that can be utilised but most certainly should not be the sole yardstick by which educational achievement is measured. The nurturing of intellectual activity and the channelling of such activities into research and development on a cultural, economic and national basis must surely be the ultimate goal.peer-reviewe

Medical education in Malta : an update

Another academic year has come to an end, a year that has seen the finalisation of a new collective agreement for academic staff at the University of Malta, the initiation of a revamping exercise of the medical curriculum and the launching of the Foundation Program as well as Postgraduate Training Programmes in a number of medical specialities.peer-reviewe