1Office of Medical Education, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 2Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 3Department of Forensic Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Received: August 13, 2008; Accepted: December 4, 2008.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate cognitive changes in medical students before and after introduction of a 'Patient-Doctor-Society' course into the curriculum of a medical school. METHODS: Self-questionnaires that evalutated medical student congnition in the areas of medical humanities and sociology were answered by graduates-to-be who had experienced a new or previously implemented curriculum. The questionnaires included 28 questions using seven Likert scales. Student t-test was used to compare the scores between students who were educated using the new or old curriculum. RESULTS: In 405 medical students, 349 (86%) answered the questionnaires. For nine (32%) questions, students who partook of the new curriculum had higher scores than those in the older curriculum, and in 19 (68%) questions, there was no statistically significant difference. The questions that revealed differences between the groups were related to professionalism, care, personal and social communication, and ethics. CONCLUSION: Introduction of the 'Patient-Doctor-Society' course into the curriculum of a medical school was associated with cognitives change in medical students with regard to medical humanities and sociology.