The quality of higher medical education: Students’ perceptions and assessments

Abstract

Introduction. The medical education system requires modernization and adaptation to the needs of modern society. The dissatisfaction of the population with the low professional competence of doctors at the rising cost of medical services requires new principles for tuning the educational system of medical workers. The topical question is whether the medical education system should be changed with the account of not only teachers’ vision but students’ requests as well. The purpose of the article is to reveal the perceptions of students of medical universities in Russia about quality medical education, to identify the attitudes to the existing forms and methods of learning, expectations from the administration and teaching staff. Materials and Methods. The research design is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. A survey of 3 249 students representing 45 universities subordinate to the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia was conducted. To increase the reliability of the results and the interpretation of quantitative data at the second stage, the interviews with students, clinical residents and graduate students of medical institutions of higher learning were conducted. Results. The article defines the dependence of assessing the quality of education on attitudes toward academic mobility: the higher students evaluate the experience of participating in academic mobility, the higher they assess the quality of Russian medical education. Russian medical education, possessing institutional autonomy, which allows for modernization of the content and methods of implementing educational programs, comes across restrictions caused by oversupply of students to the universities in the situation of undersupply of facilities, and the underdevelopment of norms regulating the participation of medical students in medical activities. Discussion and Conclusion. The results can be used by university leadership in determining the directions of development of educational activities with a focus on student-centered learning in order to increase students’ motivation and commitment to quality education.