‘FIT-FOR-PURPOSE’ MEDICAL DOCTORS IN TODAY’S GLOBALIZED WORLD: FURTHER IMPERATIVE FOR ‘MEDICAL SOCIOECONOSOPHY’ IN BASIC MEDICAL EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT
Recently, there has been a growing concern of the dearth of Medical Doctors who are trained and skilled in ‘Management’ [1,2]. It is increasingly becoming clearer and worrisome that the training of Medical Doctors is lacking in ‘Rounded Formation’ that can lead to the production of ‘Robust Medical Doctors’ who are endowed with the ‘Skills’ and ‘Leadership Tool Kits’ to cope with the evolving and unending ‘Non-Medical Challenges’ in a ‘Globalized World’ of the 21st Century. The ‘Alarm’ being raised [1,2] is a ‘Clarion Call to Action’ and should not fizzle out without the envisioned and desired ‘Interventions’!
The ‘Landmark Flexner Report 1910’ [3] is worth noting for ‘Starters’ in the ‘Matters’ relating to ‘Medical Education’ and ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Medical Doctors’. While the Flexner Report [3] evolved from the Study of ‘Medical Education’ in America and Canada, the vast majority of the ‘Issues’ exposed were applicable to the realities in other climes! Some of the ‘Reported Issues’ concerned the ‘Training Institutions’, ‘Hospital-denominated Training’, ‘Eligibility Qualifications for Medical Education’, Regulatory Mechanisms for Standards’, ‘Curriculum Matters’ just to highlight a few! With the ‘Flexner Report Recommendations’, several ‘Interventions’ were implemented with ample time for ‘Effect’ and ‘Impact’. A ‘Post-Flexner Report Centenary Review 2010’ [4] revealed a plethora of persisting ‘Issues’ still deserving and demanding critical attention. Notable among the persisting ‘Issues’ was the matter relating to the ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’.
Our ‘Preliminary Observations’ from a Study on ‘Basic Medical Education Improvement (BMEI)’ at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) in Nigeria indicated a worrisome dearth of knowledge among Medical Doctors (including Consultants) concerning ‘Non-Medical Academic Disciplines (NMADs)’ which are relevant to ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’ (Eregie and Osarogiagbon 2013; Unpublished Data) . This suggested a major difficulty with the ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Rounded Medical Doctors’ that will have a good grasp of the concept of ‘Interdisciplinarity’. This was a strong impetus to advance the frontiers of ‘Medical Socioeconosophy (MSE)’ as an ‘Intervention’ in BMEI as was previously presented by the Author at the Oxford Round Table (ORT) in 2013! For MSE, several NMADs were identified for infusion into the BMEC and to be taught as a ‘Single Multi-Discipline Course’ spread over several years in the ‘Basic Medical Education (BME)’. The value of ‘Interdisciplinarity’ has been previously recognized [5]. The ‘PRISMS Model’ of BMEC also disposes ‘Interdisciplinarity’ as one of its components and also amplifies the potential value of MSE in BMEI! The NMADs in MSE can be captured with the Bacronym ‘PRICE’ as previously reported using each letter to harvest the relevant Disciplines and their ‘Aspects’ concerning Medical Education [6]. The ‘Plus’ of the ‘PRICE Plus’ is used to capture ‘Other’ relevant NMADs which are not covered by the Bacronym ‘PRICE’. The ‘Medical Socioeconosophy (MSE)’ is canvassed as the ‘‘PRICE Plus’ of Medicine’!
The MSE is proposed for ‘Global Applicability’ as an ‘Intervention’ in BMEI as it has the potential to address several identified ‘Difficulties’ in ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’, ‘Medical Practice’ and ‘Health Workforce Issues’:
1. The ‘Deficiencies’ identified in the ‘Flexner Report 1910’ [3] and the ‘Centenary Follow-up Report 2010’ [4]
2. The NHS Workforce Crisis can be assuaged by the MSE as suggested previously [6].
3. The difficult pervading ‘Health Professional Associations-Industry Funding Conversation’ with the ‘POTENTIALITY’ of the monstrous ‘Conflicts of Interest (COIs)’ can also be addressed by implementing the introduction of MSE into BMEI [7].
4. Strong Health Workforce ‘Working in Teams’ is a sine qua non for actualizing the ‘Universal Health Coverage (UHC)’ [8]. The embrace of MSE would eclipse the ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Medical Doctors’ who are ‘Autodidacts’ and are inimical to ‘Working in Teams’!
5. There is a dearth of highly trained Medical Doctors among the ‘Chief Executives’ in the NHS [1,2]. The MSE is geared towards facilitating the ‘Comprehensive Education and Formation’ of Medical Doctors with ‘Built-up Capacity’ for Management as ‘Formal Management Education (FME)’ is a ‘Subsumption’ within the MSE!
6. In a ‘Globalized World’, well-formed and robustly-trained Medical Doctors will be faced with ‘Non-Medical Challenges and Responsibilities’. The Immediate Past President of the World Bank, Dr Jim Yong Kim, is a Medical Doctor! The ‘Intervention’ with MSE in BMEC and BMEI will assure that Medical Doctors are ‘Fit-for-Purpose’ both for ‘Medical’ and ‘Non-Medical’ Challenges and Engagements/ Responsibilities
The dearth of NMADs in BMEC is world-wide deficiency in Medical Schools [9]. The ‘MSE Intervention’ is, therefore, a ‘Programmatic Response’ to a ‘Global Difficulty’ in Medical Education. Others have reported these deficiencies for which MSE holds promise as a panacea [10-12]!
REFERENCES
1. Thornton J. ‘Doctors need to step up’- Why are there still so few Medical Chief Executives in the NHS? BMJ 2019; 365:l4341.
2. Mehdi A. Teach Medical Students about Management. BMJ 2019; 366:l4997 of 6th August 2019
3. Flexner A. Medical Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. New York City. 1910
4. Cooke M, Irby D.M., O’Brien B.C. A Summary of Educating Physicians: A Call for Reform of Medical School and Residency. 2010
5. Wikipedia. Interdisciplinarity. Wikipedia.com, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htm. 2012
6. Role for ‘Medical Socioeconosophy’ in Basic Medical Education Curriculum Improvement. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4173/rr-3 of 26th June 2019
7. Eregie C.O. More Talk on the ‘Health Professional Associations-Industry Funding’; ‘Conflicts of Interest are better Avoided: A Proactive Role for ‘Medical Socioeconosophy’’. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2093/rr-3 of 22nd May 2019
8. Eregie C.O. The 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13) of World Health Organization; The WHO Director-General Keynote Speech to the 72nd WHA: A Missing Major Programmatic Matter. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4173/rr-1 of 18th June 2019
9. Wikipedia. Medical Schools. Wikipedia.com, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htm. 2012
10. Illing J et al. How prepared are medical graduates to begin practice? A comparison of three UK medical schools, final summary and conclusions for the GMC Education Committee 2008; http//gmc-uk.org/about/research/REPORT
11. General Medical Council (UK). Undergraduate medical education: reports from schools and publications. London: General Medical Council, 2009
12. McKimm J. Current Trends in Undergraduate Medical Education: Program and Curriculum Design. Education and Training 2010
Professor Charles Osayande Eregie,
MBBS, FWACP, FMCPaed, FRCPCH (UK), Cert. ORT (Oxford), MSc (Religious Education),
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria,
Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria,
UNICEF-Trained BFHI Master Trainer,
ICDC-Trained in Code Implementation,
*Technical Expert/ Consultant on the FMOH-UNICEF-NAFDAC Code Implementation Project in Nigeria,
*No Competing Interests.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
30 August 2019
CHARLES OSAYANDE EREGIE
MEDICAL DOCTOR
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, University of Benin and Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. Also, UNICEF-Trained BFHI Master Trainer and ICDC-Trained in Code Implementaion. Also a Technical Expert/ Consultant on FMOH-UNICEF-NAFDAC Project on Code Implementation in Nigeria
Institute of Child Health, University of Benin, PMB 1154, Benin City, Nigeria
Rapid Response:
‘FIT-FOR-PURPOSE’ MEDICAL DOCTORS IN TODAY’S GLOBALIZED WORLD: FURTHER IMPERATIVE FOR ‘MEDICAL SOCIOECONOSOPHY’ IN BASIC MEDICAL EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT
Recently, there has been a growing concern of the dearth of Medical Doctors who are trained and skilled in ‘Management’ [1,2]. It is increasingly becoming clearer and worrisome that the training of Medical Doctors is lacking in ‘Rounded Formation’ that can lead to the production of ‘Robust Medical Doctors’ who are endowed with the ‘Skills’ and ‘Leadership Tool Kits’ to cope with the evolving and unending ‘Non-Medical Challenges’ in a ‘Globalized World’ of the 21st Century. The ‘Alarm’ being raised [1,2] is a ‘Clarion Call to Action’ and should not fizzle out without the envisioned and desired ‘Interventions’!
The ‘Landmark Flexner Report 1910’ [3] is worth noting for ‘Starters’ in the ‘Matters’ relating to ‘Medical Education’ and ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Medical Doctors’. While the Flexner Report [3] evolved from the Study of ‘Medical Education’ in America and Canada, the vast majority of the ‘Issues’ exposed were applicable to the realities in other climes! Some of the ‘Reported Issues’ concerned the ‘Training Institutions’, ‘Hospital-denominated Training’, ‘Eligibility Qualifications for Medical Education’, Regulatory Mechanisms for Standards’, ‘Curriculum Matters’ just to highlight a few! With the ‘Flexner Report Recommendations’, several ‘Interventions’ were implemented with ample time for ‘Effect’ and ‘Impact’. A ‘Post-Flexner Report Centenary Review 2010’ [4] revealed a plethora of persisting ‘Issues’ still deserving and demanding critical attention. Notable among the persisting ‘Issues’ was the matter relating to the ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’.
Our ‘Preliminary Observations’ from a Study on ‘Basic Medical Education Improvement (BMEI)’ at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) in Nigeria indicated a worrisome dearth of knowledge among Medical Doctors (including Consultants) concerning ‘Non-Medical Academic Disciplines (NMADs)’ which are relevant to ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’ (Eregie and Osarogiagbon 2013; Unpublished Data) . This suggested a major difficulty with the ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Rounded Medical Doctors’ that will have a good grasp of the concept of ‘Interdisciplinarity’. This was a strong impetus to advance the frontiers of ‘Medical Socioeconosophy (MSE)’ as an ‘Intervention’ in BMEI as was previously presented by the Author at the Oxford Round Table (ORT) in 2013! For MSE, several NMADs were identified for infusion into the BMEC and to be taught as a ‘Single Multi-Discipline Course’ spread over several years in the ‘Basic Medical Education (BME)’. The value of ‘Interdisciplinarity’ has been previously recognized [5]. The ‘PRISMS Model’ of BMEC also disposes ‘Interdisciplinarity’ as one of its components and also amplifies the potential value of MSE in BMEI! The NMADs in MSE can be captured with the Bacronym ‘PRICE’ as previously reported using each letter to harvest the relevant Disciplines and their ‘Aspects’ concerning Medical Education [6]. The ‘Plus’ of the ‘PRICE Plus’ is used to capture ‘Other’ relevant NMADs which are not covered by the Bacronym ‘PRICE’. The ‘Medical Socioeconosophy (MSE)’ is canvassed as the ‘‘PRICE Plus’ of Medicine’!
The MSE is proposed for ‘Global Applicability’ as an ‘Intervention’ in BMEI as it has the potential to address several identified ‘Difficulties’ in ‘Basic Medical Education Curriculum (BMEC)’, ‘Medical Practice’ and ‘Health Workforce Issues’:
1. The ‘Deficiencies’ identified in the ‘Flexner Report 1910’ [3] and the ‘Centenary Follow-up Report 2010’ [4]
2. The NHS Workforce Crisis can be assuaged by the MSE as suggested previously [6].
3. The difficult pervading ‘Health Professional Associations-Industry Funding Conversation’ with the ‘POTENTIALITY’ of the monstrous ‘Conflicts of Interest (COIs)’ can also be addressed by implementing the introduction of MSE into BMEI [7].
4. Strong Health Workforce ‘Working in Teams’ is a sine qua non for actualizing the ‘Universal Health Coverage (UHC)’ [8]. The embrace of MSE would eclipse the ‘Formation and Production’ of ‘Medical Doctors’ who are ‘Autodidacts’ and are inimical to ‘Working in Teams’!
5. There is a dearth of highly trained Medical Doctors among the ‘Chief Executives’ in the NHS [1,2]. The MSE is geared towards facilitating the ‘Comprehensive Education and Formation’ of Medical Doctors with ‘Built-up Capacity’ for Management as ‘Formal Management Education (FME)’ is a ‘Subsumption’ within the MSE!
6. In a ‘Globalized World’, well-formed and robustly-trained Medical Doctors will be faced with ‘Non-Medical Challenges and Responsibilities’. The Immediate Past President of the World Bank, Dr Jim Yong Kim, is a Medical Doctor! The ‘Intervention’ with MSE in BMEC and BMEI will assure that Medical Doctors are ‘Fit-for-Purpose’ both for ‘Medical’ and ‘Non-Medical’ Challenges and Engagements/ Responsibilities
The dearth of NMADs in BMEC is world-wide deficiency in Medical Schools [9]. The ‘MSE Intervention’ is, therefore, a ‘Programmatic Response’ to a ‘Global Difficulty’ in Medical Education. Others have reported these deficiencies for which MSE holds promise as a panacea [10-12]!
REFERENCES
1. Thornton J. ‘Doctors need to step up’- Why are there still so few Medical Chief Executives in the NHS? BMJ 2019; 365:l4341.
2. Mehdi A. Teach Medical Students about Management. BMJ 2019; 366:l4997 of 6th August 2019
3. Flexner A. Medical Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. New York City. 1910
4. Cooke M, Irby D.M., O’Brien B.C. A Summary of Educating Physicians: A Call for Reform of Medical School and Residency. 2010
5. Wikipedia. Interdisciplinarity. Wikipedia.com, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htm. 2012
6. Role for ‘Medical Socioeconosophy’ in Basic Medical Education Curriculum Improvement. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4173/rr-3 of 26th June 2019
7. Eregie C.O. More Talk on the ‘Health Professional Associations-Industry Funding’; ‘Conflicts of Interest are better Avoided: A Proactive Role for ‘Medical Socioeconosophy’’. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2093/rr-3 of 22nd May 2019
8. Eregie C.O. The 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13) of World Health Organization; The WHO Director-General Keynote Speech to the 72nd WHA: A Missing Major Programmatic Matter. https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l4173/rr-1 of 18th June 2019
9. Wikipedia. Medical Schools. Wikipedia.com, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htm. 2012
10. Illing J et al. How prepared are medical graduates to begin practice? A comparison of three UK medical schools, final summary and conclusions for the GMC Education Committee 2008; http//gmc-uk.org/about/research/REPORT
11. General Medical Council (UK). Undergraduate medical education: reports from schools and publications. London: General Medical Council, 2009
12. McKimm J. Current Trends in Undergraduate Medical Education: Program and Curriculum Design. Education and Training 2010
Professor Charles Osayande Eregie,
MBBS, FWACP, FMCPaed, FRCPCH (UK), Cert. ORT (Oxford), MSc (Religious Education),
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria,
Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria,
UNICEF-Trained BFHI Master Trainer,
ICDC-Trained in Code Implementation,
*Technical Expert/ Consultant on the FMOH-UNICEF-NAFDAC Code Implementation Project in Nigeria,
*No Competing Interests.
Competing interests: No competing interests