Table 4 Summary of Driving and Hindering Forces along with strengths and weaknesses of a national medical licensing examination in Saudi Arabia
From: The need for national medical licensing examination in Saudi Arabia
Driving Forces | Hindering Forces |
|---|---|
1. Increase in number of medical schools over short period | 1. Cost and time |
2. Inconsistency and variable expertise in using valid and reliable assessment methods | 2. Natural resistance to change |
3. Large number of foreign medical graduates | 3. Fear of discovering medical schools' weaknesses |
4. Saudi medical students on scholarships to various countries | 4. Restriction of medical schools freedom and flexibility on the choice of curriculum and assessment methods |
5. What is taught is not necessarily what is learnt. Issues of planned, delivered, assessed and hidden curriculum | 5. Difficulty on agreement on a set of educational objectives |
6. Standardized testing for admission to medical schools and exit from residency calls for standardization of exit from medical school | 6. Language barrier for non-Arabic speaking physicians in the OSCE part of the licensing exam |
Strengths | Weaknesses |
1. Standardization of medical education leads to graduating medical students with the minimal required competences | 1. Standardization of medical education leads to loss of creativity and innovation required of a critical thinker physician |
2. Strengthens public trust and maintains the reputation of Saudi trained physicians | 2. League tables might be potentially detrimental to the morale of staff and students of "weak" medical schools |
3. Fair assessment of medical students and selection of candidates into residency program and jobs pool | 3. The risk that students might be exam-oriented |
4. Provides quality assurance and feedback on curriculum implementation and instructional methods across all medical schools | 4. One time assessment is not as comprehensive as ongoing assessments of medical schools |
5. Frees medical teachers to teach and do research and leaves the complexity of conducting examinations to the national organization | 5. Burdens the students with additional financial commitment |
6. Saudi Arabia may act as a regional center for high quality medical licensing examination | Â |