Evaluation of Physiopathology Curriculum for General Physicians: Presenting a Curriculum Framework and Accreditation

Abstract

Introduction: Different approaches to evaluating medical curriculum have been designed and implemented. The purpose of the present study is to review and analyze these approaches and, based on the Thien model, propose a framework for the evaluation and accreditation of the physiopathology curriculum for general physicians.Materials and Methods: This research has dealt with the development and accreditation of the framework and tools of evaluation of the physiopathology curriculum for general physicians, using a sequential exploratory mixed method (quantitative & qualitative). The data were collected through triangulation method which uses the analysis of guided content. The validation criteria were quality, reliability, credibility, and transmissibility, with less importance on the loop and alpha methods. The sampling consisted of faculty members of the medical school, curriculum evaluators and experts of the field, selected based on the goal-oriented method and volume saturation.Results: The evaluation of the physiopathology curriculum was developed using the following three areas: Elements of the curriculum (objectives, content, methods, evaluation and management), levels (intended, achieved), and internal and external evaluation criteria, based on the principles of Islamic Education. Conclusion: This framework and the tools enable us to monitor the curriculum and evaluation of its elements in the achieved and intended levels of medical education. Also according to the criteria of internal and external evaluation, the defects of the areas of planning and implementation can be detected and solved. Furthermore, the compatibility and proportion of the five elements could be evaluated which is helpful in strategic decision making.