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A longitudinal, patient-centred, integrated curriculum: facilitating community-based education in a rural clinical school.

A longitudinal, patient-centred, integrated curriculum: facilitating community-based education in a rural clinical school.

  • April 9, 2002
  • J P Sturmberg 1, S Reid, M H Khadra
  • Article

The Greater Murray Clinical School (GMCS) was established to deliver community-based medical education and address rural doctor shortages in Australia. GMCS replaces traditional discipline-based curricula with a longitudinal, patient-centered model, where students follow patients through all stages of care. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of illness, care needs, and service coordination. The paper outlines the school’s philosophy, implementation, and early experiences with this innovative model.

  • Source: Education for Health

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Charlie Labarda, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM-SHS), where he has taught for more than a decade. He is a regular member of the National research Council of the Philippines, belonging to the Medical Sciences Division (Division III). Before joining the medical faculty at UPM-SHS he trained in at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Philippine General Hospital. He finished his PhD in the Department of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong, his Master in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management (high honors), Doctor of Medicine (cum laude) at the Our Lady of Fatima University-College of Medicine, and his undergraduate Social Sciences studies (cum laude) at UP Tacloban College. He was a topnotcher in the Physician Licensure Examination (8th place).

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Dr. Dharamsi’s academic journey began in Canada, where he earned an interdisciplinary PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and achieved tenure in the Department of Family Medicine. He also co-directed the UBC Center for International Health.

 

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His career includes leadership roles as regional director for early childhood development and poverty alleviation in East Africa with the Aga Khan Development Network, founding associate dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, and senior advisor to the provost at New Mexico State University.

 

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