The document outlines the curriculum of behavioral sciences taught at UHS to medical students over the first three years. It details the textbook used, topics covered including introduction to psychology, medical ethics, and psychosocial aspects of health. Assessment includes a 200-point exam in third year comprising multiple choice questions, short essays, and oral/clinical stations evaluating psychosocial assessment and communication skills. The implementation faces issues like lack of trained faculty and standardized teaching across colleges.

1. UHS Curriculum of Behavioral
Sciences
Presented by
Dr M Mujtaba
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
At the AEME conference on 7th March 2015

2. Outline
• Textbook of Behavioral Sciences by Mansoor & Rana
• Taught throughout the first three years
• By the end of third year there is a 200 marks professional exam

3. Textbook
• Divided into 5 sections
• Introduction to Behavioral Sciences
• Medical Ethics, Professionalism & Doctor Patient Relationship
• Use of Principles of Psychology in Medical Practice
• Sociology & Anthropology In Health & Disease
• Psychosocial Aspects of Health & Disease

4. Areas of Learning & Assessment
• Introduction to Behavioral Sciences & Its importance in Health
• Bio-Psychosocial Model
• Importance of BS (why & when, understanding, correlation of mind and body)
• Role of Doctor (Desirable Attitudes and practices)
• Understanding Behavior
• Sensation & Sensory Organs (description, working and understanding)
• Perception (definition, factors affecting, types)
• Attention & Concentration (Definition, Factors affecting)
• Memory (Definition, stages, types, methods to improve)
• Thinking (Thinking, cognition, levels of cognition, problem solving & decision making)
• Communication (Types, modes, factor affecting, characteristics of good comm.)

5. Areas of Learning & Assessment
• Individual Differences
• Personality (definitions, theories, stages of growth, factors affecting, assessment)
• Intelligence (IQ & EQ, Methods of Enhancing EQ, factors affecting, assessment)
• Stress & Stressors
• Definition, Classification & Relationship of stress and illness
• Stress Management
• Anxiety, coping skills, defense Mechanisms, treatment compliance
• Conflict management, adjustment & Maladjustments, pain perception, hypnosis
• Interviewing & Psychosocial History Taking
• Assessing Psychosocial factors in different disciplines of medicine and surgery
• Definitions, types, skills of interview and listening

6. Areas of Learning & Assessment
• Doctor/Dentist Patient Relationship
• Types, Models, Boundaries, psychological reactions
• Medical Ethics
• Intro, Hippocratic Oath, Pillars, Dos & Don’ts, responsibilities, core values
• Interactions with pts., families, pharmaceuticals, teachers & professionals, ethical
dilemmas, advertisements & publicity
• Rights of patients & Doctors, informed consent, confidentiality capacity assessment
• Pain, Sleep & Consciousness
• Pain (Concept, Physiology, psychosocial aspects, management of chronic/intractable)
• Sleep (Stages, physiology, changes & altered consciousness, sleep induction techniques)
• Application in special population
• Physically/Mentally Handicapped, chronically ill, homebound, medically compromised

7. Areas of Learning & Assessment
• Skills
• Communication (Principals, art of questioning & listening, good and bad listener)
• Counselling (Scope, indication, contraindication, steps)
• Crisis Intervention (Mass disasters management, individual life crisis, conflict resolution)
• Informational Care (to patient about disease, drugs, prognosis etc.)
• Social & Community Perspective
• Health delivery Inequalities, and experience of health & Illness in social classes
• Illness & disease association with ethnicity, culture, gender and race
• Health beliefs, illness perception, illness behavior & Sick role
• Health Psychology
• Psychological considerations in clinical management of Patients
• Human Development Throughout the life cycle
• Impact of illness on psychological wellbeing and vice-versa

8. Psychomotor & Affective Skills
• Counselling the patient
• Empathy building
• Demonstrating various Interviewing Skills
• Breaking bad news
• Information care session
• Taking Informed consent
• Demonstrating Sleep Hygiene Techniques
• Progressive muscular relaxation exercise
• Psychosocial assessment of the patient
• Demonstrating expertise in handling
ethical issues
• Mini Mental State Examination
• Breathing exercises
• Imagery relaxation technique
• Identification of stressors in patients life
• Conflict resolution
• Dealing with aggressive Patient
• Dealing with non-cooperative patient
• Dealing with a patient in distress (Child,
female)
• Dealing with High Expressed Emotions in
The Family Members
• How to approach a patient when you
suspect abuse
• Assessing the capacity to make decisions
• Dealing with transference and counter-
transference mechanisms

9. Teaching Modes
• Cognitive Domain
• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Presentations by students
• Psychomotor & Affective Domains
• 3 weeks rotation in almost all associated medical colleges in 3rd year
• Patient interaction in simulated & real settings
• Demonstrations
• Hands on experience

10. Final Assessment
• By the end of third year there is a 200 marks professional exam which is
divided into
• Written (90 Marks)
• 45 Multiple Choice Questions (45 Marks)
• 5 Short Essay Questions (9x5 Marks)
• Orals/Clinicals
• Psychosocial Assessment of 15-20 minutes (45 Marks)
• 5 OSPE Stations of 5 minutes each (9x5 Marks)
• 20 Marks for internal assessment based on
• Attendance in lectures & Rotation
• Class Tests
• Ward Test or performances
• Any presentations/demonstrations

11. Current Issues with Implementation
• Lack of personnel trained in BS
• Gaps created in teaching by psychiatrists Vs psychologists
• Lack of involvement by clinicians from other disciplines
• Lack of standardization in teaching across medical colleges
• Textbook needs revisiting and revision
• Logistic and feasibility issues associated especially with orals/clinicals
• Standardization has become an issue in the recent exam as well
• Lack of ownership and interest in BS
• Lack of interest in assessment of BS Written exam
• Reliability of assessment process

12. CONTENTS C1 C2 C3 P A %age
Biopsychosocial Model: application of Behavioral Sciences in
Medical/Dental Practice
1 1 1 2 5
Psychological Growth and Development of Personality, Functions of
Learning, Perception, Memory, Thinking, Emotions
1 1 3 5
Communication Skills 3 1 1 5
Counseling: Breaking Bad News, Dealing with Death and Dying in Clinical
Setting, Crisis Intervention/Conflict Resolution
1 3 1 5
Provision of Informational Care and Improving Compliance 2 2 1 5
Psychological Reactions in Health Settings 1 2 2 5
Role of Psychosocial Factors in Health Care 1 1 3 5
How to Make Psychosocial Assessment 2 1 2 5
Effects of Psychosocial Factors and Stress while dealing with common
Health Conditions, Chronic Pain
2 3 15 5 25
Stress, Coping Techniques 2 3 5
Ethics and Character Building 1 5 9 15
Role of Mental Health and Medical and Dental Practice 1 1 3 5
Enhancing Learning Skills 5 2 3 10
Total 100%