https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8272-5264
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ABSTRACT
In the last few decades, primary care medicine (PCM) is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of an efficient and effective healthcare system. However, the PCM discipline is now facing challenges such as a shortage of doctors. One of the possible reasons could be the lack of comprehensive PCM curricular components in the undergraduate medical programmes. This study aimed to develop a list of core clinical topics suitable to be used as a shared PCM curriculum for undergraduate education in Malaysia. A Delphi survey that consisted of three iterative rounds with feedback was used in this research. The participants included PCM experts involved in the undergraduate level of PCM teaching. These experts were selected based on the criteria developed by two senior academicians in PCM medical education. The final developed list contained 34 core clinical topics that should be incorporated into the undergraduate PCM curriculum. The findings will be useful in establishing the policies and guidelines of PCM education for undergraduates in various medical schools. This study may also promote the field of PCM and encourage more doctors to take up the speciality. Lastly, it provides essential information to address the knowledge gap in PCM education among undergraduate medical students in Malaysia.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This study was approved by the University of Malaya Research Ethics Committee (Reference No: UM.TNC2/UMREC – 551). Participants gave both verbal and written informed consent to participate in the study as described in the Methods section and this was approved by the ethics committee.