Proposal - Methods/Procedure

A preliminary survey was conducted on 8 NUS medical students to gather information about the currently available courses/modules in their curriculum that equip them with communication skills. Their opinions on the effectiveness of the programme(s) was also gathered.

Having learnt about the Patient-Based Programme (PBP) from these students, it was then decided that an interview with Dr. Lau Tang Ching, the professor in charge of the PBP, was to be carried out next so that a better understanding of the PBP could be achieved. However, due to confidentiality issues, the request for the interview was declined.

Another interview with Dr. Lee Yu Ming, a general practitioner at Comwell Medical Clinic, was also conducted to find out, from his professional view, how important it is to have communication skills in his workplace and whether he felt that sufficient is currently being done to educate medical students.

As a deeper understanding of the PBP is crucial to this project, and these information cannot be obtained from any other sources, an interview with the Dean of Medicine will be conducted instead.

Furthermore, as Dr. Lee studied abroad, another interview will be conducted with a houseman who recently graduated from NUS, so that further insights about education for doctors in NUS can be obtained.

With the information of what kind of communication skills are essential for doctors, based on the interviews with Dr. Lee and the houseman, as well as what is currently available in the PBP, improvements in the curriculum for communication skills in the medicine faculty will be sought.

Lastly, a survey will be conducted on the NUS medical students to determine the feasibility of the proposed improvements and to enquire how open they are to the suggestions made.