INTRODUCTIONVarious curricular innovations were adopted by medical schools worldwide in an attempt to produce medical graduates that could meet future healthcare needs of society locally and globally. This paper presents findings on curricular approaches implemented in Malaysian medical schools, in trying to meet those needs.

METHODSInformation was obtained from published records, responses from various questionnaires, personal communication and involvement with curricular development.

RESULTSCurricular innovations tended to be implemented in new medical schools upon their establishment. Established medical schools seemed to implement these innovations much later. Curricular trends appear to move towards integration, student-centred and problem-based learning as well as community-oriented medical education, with the Student-centred learning, Problem-based learning, Integrated teaching, Community-based education, Electives and Systematic programme (SPICES) model used as a reference. The focus is based on the premise that although the short-term aim of undergraduate medical education in Malaysia is to prepare graduates for the pre-registration house officer year, they must be able to practise and make decisions independently and be sensitive to the needs of the country's multiracial, multi-religious, and often remote communities.

CONCLUSIONIn most cases, curricular planning starts with a prescriptive model where planners focus on several intended outcomes. However, as the plan is implemented and evaluated it becomes descriptive as the planners reassess the internal and external factors that affect outcomes. A common trend in community-oriented educational activities is evident, with the introduction of interesting variations, to ensure that the curriculum can be implemented, sustained and the intended outcomes achieved.

Curriculum ; trends ; Education, Medical ; methods ; Humans ; Malaysia ; Schools, Medical

Curriculum ; Education, Medical ; methods ; trends ; Education, Medical, Graduate ; Humans ; Schools, Medical ; Singapore

In order to investigate the extent and growth of SCI publication activity of Korean medicine, DIALOG's SCISearch database was searched and the number of SCI Korean medical papers in each medical specialty was measured by publication year and by document type for 1996 and 1997. The percentage contribution of Korean medical papers to SCI database and the SCI publication productivity ratio were analyzed for each of 57 medical specialties. The data obtained in this study was compared with the data representing the 1980s and the data for the first half of the 1990s. The absolute productivity of SCI Korean medical papers as measured by the number of SCI Korean papers has increased about ten times from 306 papers in 1990 to 3,261 papers in 1997. More than 15% of SCI Korean publication output has resulted from six Korean medical journals indexed in SCI from 1995. The relative productivity of SCI Korean medical papers as measured by the percentage contribution from Korea to SCI and by its corresponding productivity ratio is not as impressive as the absolute productivity and its growth rate. It has increased three times from 0.245% to 0.642% during the same period. The relative productivity of SCI Korean medical publication output is not as great as the SCI Korean publication output of all sciences combined (1.02%).
Databases, Factual ; Human ; Korea ; Publishing/statistics & numerical data* ; Research/trends ; Research/statistics & numerical data* ; Schools, Medical/trends ; Schools, Medical/statistics & numerical data ; Specialties, Medical/trends ; Specialties, Medical/statistics & numerical data* ; World Health

OBJECTIVEThe literature published in West China Journal of Stomatology (WCJS) cited by science periodical from 1983 to 2001 were analyzed to evaluate the academic level and quality of WCJS.

METHODSThe cited literature was searched by Chinese biological medical disc (CBMDisc) from 1983 to 2001. The distributions of the times, the periodical and the authors were described.

RESULTSThe quantities of cited literature were 1 338 and increased with years. The periodical and the authors were 266 and 1 003 respectively from 1998 to 2001. The cited frequencies of stomatological periodicals were more than that of other academic periodical. The authors scattered in 32 provinces and 448 units of China. The medical university and affiliated hospital were 32.14%, the local hospital and stomatological dispensary were 54.69%, the military hospital was 10.71%, and other unit was 2.46%.

CONCLUSIONThe literature published in WCJS are superior in quality. The cited frequency of WCJS is high relatively. WCJS is one of the most important informational source of stomatology.

Bibliometrics ; China ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Oral Medicine ; Publishing ; trends ; Schools, Medical ; Universities

Computer Simulation ; Curriculum ; Education, Medical ; organization & administration ; trends ; Electronic Health Records ; Health Services Research ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary Communication ; Leadership ; Patient Care Team ; Public Health ; Schools, Medical ; Singapore