title: Student feedback about the integrated curriculum in a Caribbean medical school.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Xavier University School of Medicine adopted an integrated, organ system-based curriculum in January 2013. The present study was aimed at determining students' perceptions of the integrated curriculum and related assessment methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted on first- to fourth-semester undergraduate medical students during March 2014. The students were informed of the study and subsequently invited to participate. Focus group discussions were conducted. The curriculum's level of integration, different courses offered, teaching-learning methods employed, and the advantages and concerns relating to the curriculum were noted. The respondents also provided feedback about the assessment methods used. Deductive content analysis was used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two of the 68 students (32.2%) participated in the study. The respondents expressed generally positive opinions. They felt that the curriculum prepared them well for licensing examinations and future practice. Problem-based learning sessions encouraged active learning and group work among students, thus, improving their understanding of the course material. The respondents felt that certain subjects were allocated a larger proportion of time during the sessions, as well as more questions during the integrated assessment. They also expressed an appreciation for medical humanities, and felt that sessions on the appraisal of literature needed modification. Their opinions about assessment of behavior, attitudes, and professionalism varied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Student opinion was positive, overall. Our findings would be of interest to other medical schools that have recently adopted an integrated curriculum or are in the process of doing so.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pharmacology, Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
authors.forename: P Ravi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6105-5636
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ramanan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3111-5383
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balasubramanium
authors.affiliation: Departments of Clinical Medicine, Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Neelam R
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9751-5451
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7141-1980
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nuguri
keywords: Assessment; Caribbean region; Curriculum; Formative assessment; Integrated; Teaching-learning