General Medicine Curriculum Under Revision

In the upcoming revisions to the general medicine curriculum, nonessential and overlapping subjects are to be eliminated and replaced with courses on traditional medicine. The program would also see a reduction in the study period from seven to six and a half years.

The new curriculum will be communicated to all universities of medical sciences once it is scrutinized and finalized by the Council on General Medicine Education.

Three modules on medical practices have also been proposed for the fundamental sciences and clinical courses which will be gradually added to the curriculum, said Tahereh Changiz, council secretary. They include education on the skills of learning and study, communication, research and use of scientific reference books as well as professional behavior.

“Some universities have already presented the subjects as optional modules which offer valuable experience for the program,” she was quoted as saying by salamatnews.com.  

The new revisions will determine the general framework of medical subjects and ensure that the essential topics are covered and objectives met, while enabling universities to make adaptations according to their capacities.

Meanwhile, a member of the Majlis (parliament) Health Commission ruled as baseless reports that 40,000 general practitioners are unemployed.

“The report is baseless because there are currently 53,000 active GPs in the country,” said Akbar Ranjbarzadeh.

The official said there are 69,500 GPs who make up two thirds of the medical fraternity. Several hundred of the physicians live abroad, a number of them are over 70 years old and a few others are deceased. Out of the 53,000 active GPs, around 43,000 are officially working in private hospitals or clinics and at state health centers, IRNA reported.

“There might be around 8,000 or 9,000 unemployed GPs who mostly don’t wish to work in the health sector for some reason, perhaps preferring to go into business,” he said, adding that the extensive number of license applications for surgery is an indicator of an active medical community.

Ranjbarzadeh expressed hope that with the new revisions, the position of GPs will be enhanced. He also advised students who have no interest in the medical profession not to apply for the medical program just because of parental or peer pressure.

The total number of seats at medical universities, including state, private and the Payame Noor University (a public university system and one of the largest in Iran) has grown from 32,000 annually to 40,000 seats in 2015. The capacity of admission for general medicine has also increased from 4,000 to 5,000 a year.