Abstract

Assessing the Preparedness of Foundation Year in Equipping Umm Al-Qura University Medical Students to Study the Newly Introduced Curriculum for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery: A Student Perspective

Background: The preparatory year in medical school is meant to prime students to the challenges of studying the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program. In 2016, a huge change in the Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) medical school program was introduced with a new MBBS curriculum. Aim: The efficacy of the foundation year program to equip students to study the newly introduced MBBS curriculum has not yet been assessed. As such, the current study aims to assess the effectiveness and quality of the UQU foundation year program. Materials and Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design, targeting medical students of the new MBBS curriculum of MEDUQU, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), who have passed their first year of medical school. The study involved a structured questionnaire that was distributed among students using different platforms on social media. Results: A total of 572 students (age, 21.9 ± 3.5 years) completed the questionnaire. Most of the participants were women (52.1%). Most students reported that teaching and learning styles in the foundation year were completely different from the first year in medical school (74.3%). More than half of the students reported that the assessment of the foundation year was focused on memorization (57.7%) rather than learning. Considering content-related strategies, the highest reported agreement by the students was for a large amount of content (49.8%). Conclusion: An improvement in the education quality of the foundation year is needed, as students were least satisfied with college activities, tutors’ preparedness, and teaching experiences.

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