Patient-Centeredness of Hidden Curriculum in Medical Education

Lida  Jarahi; Seyed Masoud  Hosseini; Sadaf  Shamshirgaran; Mehri  Yavari

doi:10.18502/jimc.v8i2.17693

Lida Jarahi Department of Community Medicine, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Seyed Masoud Hosseini Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Sadaf Shamshirgaran Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Mehri Yavari Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Department of Community Health Nursing, Department of Medical Education, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v8i2.17693

Keywords: Curriculum, Education, Medical, Patient-centered care, Physicians, Schools, Medical, Universities

Abstract

Background: A significant gap exists between patient-centered health policies and medical graduates’ practice. Medical education is not restricted to the formal curriculum. The hidden curriculum has a powerful effect on students’ learning and behavior. This study measured the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum in Mashhad Medical School.

Methods: The participants were medical students at Mashhad Medical School who were about to graduate. The sample size was determined 100 students based on the Morgan table and selected in a convenient method. The validated Persian version of the Haidet instrument with three content areas of “role modeling, student’s experiences and support for students’ patient-centered actions” was used to evaluate the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum. Descriptive indexes and Independent samples T-Test were used for analysis.

Results: The mean±SD score of patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum was 54.9±9.4, slightly more than half of the total questionnaire score. The area of "support for students' patient-centered actions" received a higher mean±SD score (62.1±16.5) compared to role modeling (53.9±12.3) and student experiences (53.6±9.4). Additionally, medical students emphasized the professor's role in acquiring patient-centered care.

Conclusion: Despite the formal education for patient-centeredness, students learn mainly from the practical environment and their educators’ behaviors. There was a relative dissonance between the formal and implicit curriculum regarding patient-centeredness associated with the medical student. The medical students’ experiences regarding patient-centered manners and giving encouraging feedback are two chief points for improving patient-centeredness.