title: Improvement in undergraduate medical education: a 10-year follow-up in Finland.
abstract: Several studies have revealed that undergraduate medical education does not adequately prepare students for their work as physicians. There have been attempts to solve this problem in curriculum reforms in medical faculties. In this article, Finnish physicians' opinions on their undergraduate medical education are analysed. In 1988, a postal questionnaire was mailed to 2632 physicians registered during 1977-86, and altogether 1745 questionnaires were returned (66.3%). A follow-up study was done in 1998, and a questionnaire was sent to 2529 physicians who graduated between 1987 and 1996; 1822 questionnaires were returned (73.1%). Half of the respondents considered undergraduate education to correspond well with the requisite diagnostic skills and hospital doctors' work in general. In older and more traditional medical faculties (Helsinki, Oulu and Turku) education in primary healthcare work was considered insufficient. Also, more than 80% of the respondents felt they received too little teaching in administrative work. They reported that both traditional and younger, community-oriented faculties (Kuopio and Tampere) had considerably improved their education, especially in primary healthcare, during the 10-year follow-up. However, there were still clear differences between the education in the respective types of faculty as evaluated by their graduates. There is still room for improvements in undergraduate medical education, the better to meet the real needs of practising physicians in different fields of health care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and General Practice, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. harri.hyppola@fimnet.fi
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyppölä
authors.forename: Esko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumpusalo
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Virjo
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mattila
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Neittaanmäki
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Halila
authors.forename: Santero
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luhtala
authors.forename: Mauri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isokoski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires