Majumder M A A
Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Ann Acad Med Singap. 2004 Mar;33(2):257-63.
This article addresses the roles, issues, approaches, rationale, pitfalls, priorities and balance of research in medical education, particularly its "disarray" status in Asia. Research in medical education has influenced education in many ways. Most importantly, it provides legitimate evidences to stakeholders on which to make educational decisions. It also has a wider social impact on teaching practice and subsequent clinical practice. However, in Asia, medical educational research has not substantially influenced educational policy and medical practices. Moreover, it fails to receive comparable attention as in developed countries. A number of constraints that have hampered the development of educational research in Asia are identified: low socio-economic condition of the region; cultural and religious values and beliefs of the people; lack of congruence between the mission and vision of medical schools; leadership crisis; lack of financial resources; inadequate exposure to medical educational research in undergraduate training; lack of collaboration and commitment; and unforeseeable short-term outcome of medical education. The article concludes with some specific recommendations to strengthen research and to create a research culture in the region, including active leadership and commitment of the institutes/organisations, careful assessment and strategic settings of the priorities of medical educational research, establishment of a regional centre for medical education research, availability of financial resources, wider dissemination of research findings, collaboration with the developed countries and initiative to publish regional-based medical education journals, including electronic journals. Appropriate research environment and culture will enable stakeholders to obtain evidence-based information from educational research to increase the relevance, quality, cost-effectiveness and equity of medical education and practice in Asia.
本文探讨了医学教育研究的作用、问题、方法、基本原理、陷阱、重点及平衡，特别是其在亚洲的“混乱”状况。医学教育研究在许多方面影响了教育。最重要的是，它为利益相关者提供了做出教育决策的合理依据。它还对教学实践及后续临床实践产生更广泛的社会影响。然而，在亚洲，医学教育研究尚未对教育政策和医疗实践产生实质性影响。此外，它未能像在发达国家那样受到同等程度的关注。本文指出了一些阻碍亚洲教育研究发展的制约因素：该地区社会经济状况较低；民众的文化和宗教价值观及信仰；医学院校使命与愿景不一致；领导力危机；缺乏财政资源；本科培训中对医学教育研究的接触不足；缺乏合作与投入；以及医学教育不可预见的短期结果。文章最后提出了一些加强该地区研究并营造研究文化的具体建议，包括机构/组织的积极领导与投入、对医学教育研究重点进行仔细评估和战略设定、建立医学教育研究区域中心、提供财政资源、更广泛地传播研究成果、与发达国家合作以及创办包括电子期刊在内的基于区域的医学教育期刊。适当的研究环境和文化将使利益相关者能够从教育研究中获取循证信息，以提高亚洲医学教育和实践的相关性、质量、成本效益及公平性。
