The development of a community-based medical education program in Korea

PURPOSE: The introduction of community-based medical education would help improve the quality of primary care. This paper suggests learning objectives and an educational program for community-based medical education. METHODS: The educational program was developed in a 1-day consensus workshop. Twenty experts, including faculty members from family medicine department of a college of medicine in Seoul and community-based preceptors, participated in the program. A needs-assessment survey was conducted among community-based preceptors before the workshop. Through this workshop, we derived learning objectives and a standardized curriculum for community-based medical education. RESULTS: In the questionnaire before the workshop, community-based preceptors voiced concerns over the program’s potential costs and the time required for teaching. The learning objectives and educational programs derived from the workshop’s consensus were consistent with the characteristics of the primary care. Based on the results of this workshop, the joint expert team developed a standard educational program on two core topics: clinical teaching and mentoring. CONCLUSION: From this curriculum development process, participants could construct a more standardized curriculum for community-based medical education. Future studies are needed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of these educational programs, such as the learners’ satisfaction and achievement.