PURPOSE
Kenya has about 10 medical schools and the new medical schools have been
collaborating with older medical schools by organizing academic visits.
Egerton University and Moi University has done this for the last five years.
The visit medical students, nursing, medical laboratory sciences, and
clinical medicine students. This study evaluated participants’ experiences
during a recent educational visit and describes the students’ perspectives of
the academic visit.
METHODS
Four questions in a questionnaire were administered to each of the
students. The questions asked how well participants achieved their learning
goals, how much they learned, the overall quality of instruction, and whether
they would recommend the visit to others. Responses ranged from 1 (most
positive) to 5 (most negative). Themes of their responses identified
included; skills in autopsy and specimen handling; microscopy and gross
pathology interpretation; linking theory to clinical practice; diagnostic and
analytical skills and knowledge expansion across systems and diseases.
RESULTS
Analysis of 98 students who participated, showed that majority gave
positive ratings; reported to have achieved their learning goals “extremely
well” or “very well,” and learned “a great deal” or “a lot” from the visit.
The overall quality of instruction was rated mostly as “excellent” or “good,”
and most participants said they would “highly recommend” the visit to other
students
CONCLUSION
Overall, this evaluation shows that the academic visit meets educational
objectives, high-quality instruction, and is well received by students,
making it a valuable learning opportunity for students in future.