Abstract:
Background: In medical education, feedback from students’ is essential in course evaluation and development.
Students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka complete a five year medical curriculum
comprising of five different streams. We aimed to evaluate the five year medical curriculum at the Faculty of
Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Methods: A qualitative research was conducted among recent graduates of the faculty. Students’ opinions on
strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum were collected via questionnaires, which were analysed and classified
into common themes. A focus group discussion (FGD) based on these themes was conducted among two student
groups, each comprising of a facilitator, two observers and nine students selected as a representative sample from
questionnaire respondents. FGDs were conducted using a semi-structured set of open-ended questions to guide
participants and maintain consistency between groups. The FGD evaluated the reasons behind students’ perceptions,
attitudes, emotions and perceived solution. Verbal and non-verbal responses were transcribed and analysed.
Results: Questionnaire response rate was 82% (153/186). Students highlighted 68 and 135 different responses on
strengths and weaknesses respectively. After analysis of both questionnaire and FGD results the following themes
emerged: a well organized module system, increased frequency of assessments, a good variety in clinical
appointments, lack of specific objectives and assessments at clinical appointments, community and behavioural
sciences streams beneficial but too much time allocation, lengthy duration of course, inadequate knowledge
provided on pharmacology and pathology.
Conclusion: We demonstrate how a brief qualitative method could be efficiently used to evaluate a curriculum
spanning a considerable length of time. This method provided an insight into the students’ attitudes and
perceptions of the present faculty curriculum. Qualitative feedback from students highlighted certain key areas that
need attention and also possible solutions as perceived by the students’.
