The determination of the relevance of basic sciences learning objectives to clinical practice using a questionnaire survey.

OBJECTIVES: Facilitating sufficient understanding of the basic sciences to underpin clinical practice is important in producing the good doctor. However, the inclusion of irrelevant material in the curriculum not only wastes valuable learning time, but may also hinder learning. The aim of this study was to determine how relevant staff and students thought respiratory basic science learning objectives were to medical practice.
DESIGN: The study involved a survey using an anonymous questionnaire to determine whether the respiratory learning objectives stated in Year 1 were perceived as relevant to clinical practice. Each learning objective was rated as being 'relevant', 'not relevant' or of 'uncertain relevance'.
SETTING: Dundee Medical School, UK.
SUBJECTS: Junior and senior students and staff.
RESULTS: Year 1 students considered the majority of the learning objectives to be relevant to clinical practice. Staff and senior students identified some respiratory learning objectives as not relevant to clinical practice, most of which were related to biochemistry.
CONCLUSIONS: The identification of learning objectives with questionable relevance to clinical practice requires careful consideration to determine whether these should be removed from the course. Attention needs to be given to both the presentation and process by which material is delivered to students. Strategies to emphasise the clinical relevance of the basic sciences to students are discussed. Further research needs to be conducted to evaluate what knowledge is essential for producing good doctors.