Outcome-based national profile of Mexico's medical graduates

Abstract

Introduction: In countries such as Mexico, outcome-based education has flourished only in a few schools. The Mexican Association of Medical Schools committed to defining a set of national outcomes and standards for all Mexican medical graduates.

Methods: During the XLVIII ordinary national meeting of this association, 120 faculty members and deans of medical schools worked collaboratively and identified, by consensus, the preliminary version of the national outcomes and minimum essential requirements, as a means of defining the national outcome-based profile for Mexican medical graduates.

Results: The nine outcomes are: (1) clinical skills; (2) communication skills; (3) public health and health systems; (4) scientific bases of medicine; (5) information management; (6) critical thinking and research; (7) teaching skills; (8) administrative and legal aspects of medical practice; and (9) values, attitudes, professionalism, and ethics.

Conclusion: The deans and faculty members of the Mexican medical schools are well aware of the diversity in the quality of medical education offered by different schools. The preliminary version of a national set of outcomes has been defined, and a final version will be created during the next national meetings of the Association. The greatest challenge however, will be its implementation into a new educational model in each school.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leticia Elizondo-Montemayor

LETICIA ELIZONDO-MONTEMAYOR has a background as a medical doctor and master's in Medical Education. She is the Director of the Centre for Research and Innovation in Medical Education, Director of the Nutrition and Wellness Program, of the Assessment and Outcomes Committee and full time professor. She was formerly Associate Director of the Medicine Program.

Angel Cid-García

ANGEL CID-GARCÍA has a background as a medical doctor. He is the Director of the Medicine Program, of the Undergraduate Department and full time professor, as well as a member of the Academic Committee of the Mexican Association of Medical Schools. He was former director of the Basic Medical Sciences Department.

Blanca Aurora Pérez-Rodríguez

BLANCA PÉREZ-RODRÍGUEZ has a background as a medical doctor and studies in education. She is the Director of the Post-graduate Department and of the Continuous Medical Education Department at Universidad de Monterrey, as well as course coordinator and member of diverse academic and health committees.

Guadalupe Alarcón-Fuentes

GUADALUPE ALARCÓN-FUENTES has a background as a medical doctor. She is the Director of the Health Education Policies and Developments department of the Quality and Education Center of the National Health Secretariat, as well as the Secretary of the Technical-Medical Development Subcommittee of the National Health Secretariat of Mexico.

Irma Pérez-García

IRMA PÉREZ-GARCÍA has a background as a psychologist and a master in educational sciences. She is a full time researcher/professor at the Social Sciences Department of the Health Sciences University Center for both, undergraduate and postgraduate programs, as well as the planning coordinator of the department, and a curricular assessor at Universidad de Guadalajara.

Stern David

DAVID T. STERN has a medical degree from Vanderbilt, Internal Medicine from Tufts, and a PhD in Teacher Education from Stanford University. He is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Education at the University of Michigan. He is also the director of the Institute for International Medical Education.