Students as partners: Our experience of setting up and working in a student engagement friendly framework

Abstract

Background: Student engagement (SE) in the curriculum is a positive indicator in the development of students deeply involved in their learning. It also has several benefits for the schools’ level of educational innovation and quality assurance.

Method: In order to identify the most important pearls from the last decade of educational developments within the field of SE at the Faculty of Medicine University of Maribor, we searched through our school’s archives, publications and research in the field of medical education.

Results: Three areas were identified as the most important SE complements: (i) peer teaching, (ii) school governance, and (iii) extracurricular activities. The paper highlights how many student-driven initiatives move from informal frameworks toward a formal structure, elective courses, and, in the end, compulsory components of the curriculum.

Discussion: As demonstrated by the three educational achievements at our school, fostering a high level of SE can lead to innovative curricular changes, benefit the whole school and enable students to deliver highly impactful extracurricular projects.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Debra Klamen from Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine, for her suggestions to improve this paper.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marko Zdravković

Marko Zdravković, MD, is completing residency in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. He is a recent graduate of and current medical educator at Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, and the ASPIRE Academy co-chair at AMEE. His main educational interests are Student/Resident Engagement, Team Learning, Curriculum Development and Simulation.

Tamara Serdinšek

Tamara Serdinšek, MD, is a obstetrics and gynaecology resident at University Medical Centre Maribor, a recent medical graduate, and current PhD student, a member of Centre for Medical Education and the coordinator of Clinical Skills Laboratory at Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor.

Monika Sobočan

Monika Sobočan, MD, is a junior doctor at University Medical Centre Maribor, a recent medical graduate and current PhD student and the Coordinator of the Centre for Medical Education at Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor.

Sebastjan Bevc

Sebastjan Bevc, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Nephrology at the University Medical Centre Maribor and an Associate Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor.

Radovan Hojs

Radovan Hojs, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Clinic for Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre Maribor, a Vice-dean at Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor and a Professor of Internal Medicine.

Ivan Krajnc

Ivan Krajnc, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor.