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Table 3 Components of the Professionalism Curriculum at MakCHS according to 1st to 5th Year Students

From: Learning health professionalism at Makerere University: an exploratory study amongst undergraduate students

Category

Process

Illustrative quotations from transcripts

Formal

1st Year course on professionalism

My first tutorial, the tutor was so good, the first thing we dealt with was ethics, he talked about attitude and my attitude wasn't good. I used to be proud, he emphasized the point of respecting and doing good to people; he helped me work on my attitude (1 st Year)

We learnt professionalism theoretically in 1st year, we read up the codes to be followed (4 th Year)

 

Lectures

Dr. Y was giving guidance at the very beginning of the course, I got information so lectures helped (1 st Year)

 

Reading

My point is that it was gained through reading. We read various books (1 st Year)

Hidden

The tutorial process

In our tutorials, there are students who have better communication skills and we learn from each other (1 st Year)

We conduct our tutorials, we set ground rules which we follow and share information and learn how to interact with fellow students (2 nd Year)

 

Experiential learning

Through the wards; the exposure has brought out how we are expected to behave, for example every one knows we need screens before we examine a patient (4 th Year)

First, we learn ethics, then from clinical years, the way you speak to a patient (5 th Year)

It's a people business, no matter what, there's that element of community members, how to deal with them, you must work with people (5 th Year)

I have learnt from class and wards, still on the issue of knowing the limits (5 th Year)

 

Community based Education and Service

Interaction with other people when we go for COBES (2 nd Year)

We have never sat in one place, we move in people's districts so we've learnt and are still learning all that is required of us (4 th Year)

Informal

Interaction

Interacting with friends, listening and learning takes place (3 rd Year)

I've learnt confidentiality by keeping my patients' records, I don't just display them, if you don't respect them, if you don't respect patients, you'll never get knowledge (5 th Year)

I have learnt to respect others irrespective of their level of education, that is support staff know things we don't know and communication with patients at every level and social status. (2 nd Year)

 

Reflection/self awareness

...but what really impacts itself is what you do, if you can't do that when you are a student, there is no way to do it later on even as a full doctor (5 th Year)

You realize there are things to consider and accepting your limitations. You see how things are done learning from mistakes. It's a process from exposure (5 th Year)

 

Role modeling and mentoring

I learnt to respect colleagues from a doctor; he is a senior doctor who gives you time to talk to him; he appreciates every one at the same level (1 st Year)

By examples, so tutors should live as an example and let them go for professionalism courses (2 nd Year)

On the ward when you use what a senior does so you want to do it the same (3 rd Year)

Skills passed on from one to another in medicine can't be learnt in books. There has to be a human element who has to be a model (4 th Year)

The best way to learn is from your seniors, mentoring though it didn't work; 3 students to 1 doctor (5 th Year)