1. 1
HPE and Needs
Assessment
Hirotaka Onishi MD, MHPE
International Research Center for Medical Education
Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo

2. What is a Curriculum?
 Schedule of classes or lectures?
 Syllabus?
 Lecture contents?
2

3. Curriculum Viewpoints
 Not only schedule or program but also what
learners learned should be considered
Manifest curriculum
Hidden curriculum
What teachers
like to teach
What learners
actually learned

4. Curriculum Development
 6-step Approach (Kern)
1. Problem identification and
general needs assessment
2. Needs assessment
for targeted learners
3. Goals and objectives
4. Educational strategy
5. Implementation
6. Assessment or
evaluation
●
●
●
●
●
●

5. 1. Problem Identification
Health Needs and Curriculum
 What is the curriculum of a health care
professional school (faculty) for?
 Educators’ obligation
 To meet the needs of learners, patients,
and society
 To develop the curriculum by a logical and
systematic approach
 Strong linkage of health professional
education and public health

6. Health Needs First
 Universities tend to pursue details for
any research areas
 Health professional education should
not pursue research but health needs
6

7. Policy Level
 Any policy of Ministry of Education or
Health?
 Mission or vision of medical schools?
 Mission-based curriculum development
7

8. Review of Available Info
 Journals
 Use of consultants/experts
 Official reports
 Public health statistics
8

9. Data Analysis
 Information gathering
 Qualitative: Focus group, interview, etc
 Quantitative: Questionnaire, etc
 Analyzing the collected information
 Qualitative: Semantic categorization
 Quantitative: Statistical analysis
9

10. Needs Assessment for
Medical Education Curriculum
(Needs) = (Current approach) – (Ideal approach)
Patients
Health
Professionals Educators Society
Current
Ideal

11. Example: Medical Interview
11
Patients
Health
Professionals Educators Society
Current
Some
doctors do
not use
polite
sentences
with patients
Many doctors
feel that they
can use only
short time
with patients
in OPD
No teaching has
been offered for
medical interview
Some people
complain that
communication
skills of doctors
are not enough
Ideal
Doctors are
using polite
words with
patients
Doctors
should learn
how to have
medical
interview
Medical interview
training using
standardized
patients will be
needed
Communication
skills of doctors
should be
improved

12. Review of Available
Information (US Example)
 Published Literature: PubMed, ERIC
 Accreditation Bodies: AAMC, LCME,
ACGME
 Professional Societies: IOM
 BEME
 Government Databases and Reports
 Use of Consultants/Experts
 Collection of New Information
12

13. 2. Needs Assessment for
Targeted Learners
 Before you implement a new curriculum,
please ask students if the new
curriculum seems OK for them or not
 Demands Needs
 Demands: what they want
 Needs: what they need in the processes to
be a physician
13

14. 3 Steps
1. Choose your targeted learners
2. Find out information about the targeted
learners
3. Determine characteristics of the
learning environment
14

15. Information about
Targeted Learners
 Previous training & experience
 Already planned training & experience
 Existing proficiencies –
knowledge/attitudes/skills
 Current performance/behaviors
 Perceived deficiencies & learning needs
 Preferences
15

16. Information about
Targeted Environment
 Related existing curricula
 Hidden / informal curriculum
 Specific enabling and reinforcing
factors/barriers
 Resources
 Stakeholders
 Politics/factors related to institutional
administration, policy and procedure
16

17. Themes for
Small Group Discussion
 Select one topic for curriculum
development
 Determine the period and learners of
the curriculum
 Develop needs assessment table for
both current and ideal approaches
 Check if targeted learners would like the
curriculum
17