May 2019
by Kevork Hopayan, Clinical Professor of Family Medicine
The University of Nicosia’s international, postgraduate, online Family Medicine course was reported in the British Journal of General Practice, May 2019 (Vol. 69 Issue 682), a leading international journal for family doctors. The article describes the development of the course and the unique contribution it makes to family medicine on the world stage. In Cyprus like many other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, the first point of contact for patients has been secondary care doctors, with paediatricians and obstetrician- gynaecologists providing care for their respective groups. However, those physicians working as family doctors are eager to pursue postgraduate training, to gain due accreditation and ultimately to raise the contribution of family medicine to the nation’s healthcare. To meet this demand in the region, the University of Nicosia Medical School launched a postgraduate family medicine course in 2014. The course is modular, leading to a postgraduate diploma after two semesters, with the option of proceeding to a Master’s degree on completion of a research dissertation.
Lessons are delivered mostly online with optional week-long on-site courses in each semester. Online teaching includes asynchronous activities such as video-recorded lectures and presentations of clinical skills, case discussions, quizzes, and other exercises, all delivered through an interactive electronic platform. The assessment methods include a workplace-based assessment portfolio and a written applied knowledge test for the diploma. Students have the option of sitting a clinical skills examination which leads to MRCGP [INT], Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners, International.
Designing the course faced several challenges. The students are often in full-time employment, and many work in various hospital posts because there are no training placements in general practice. The solution was to make the course flexible, offering part-time and full-time streams and enrolment while working/training in secondary care. Students can undertake lessons at times compatible with their other commitments. Knowledge can be taught and assessed online more easily than can skills and attitudes. Solutions have been found for teaching through live webinars and videos, and for assessment through a portfolio of case-based discussions and recorded consultations and procedures. The content and level need to be carefully balanced. On the one hand, the content must match international standards, while on the other account must be taken of differences in disease patterns and systems between countries. The effort of meeting the challenges is worthwhile if our graduates add their voices and experience to the expanding movement to grow primary care in Cyprus and the region. We hope that reporting our experience will add to the development of online family medicine courses.