@article{Baig_Siddiqui_Baig_Khursheed_Meah_2022, title={Level of integration in current undergraduate curricula of two private-sector medical colleges in Karachi }, volume={13}, url={https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/73910}, DOI={10.36834/cmej.73910}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Background</strong>: Diverse strategies are employed globally to integrate medical curricula. Nevertheless, a gap exists in assessing the role of medical instructors in meaningful integration. We developed and used a tool to explore the current level of integration, score medical instructors’ individual practices for integration, and investigate contextual elements minimizing integration.</p> <p><strong>Methodology</strong>: This cross-sectional study, conducted in September-November-2020, used convenience-sampling. The study participants were basic-sciences and clinical instructors at two private-sector medical colleges in Karachi-Pakistan (with a response rate of 53.5%, <em>n</em> = 107). We validated a paper-based questionnaire through a pilot study on five participants. This tool with 11 close-ended questions on a 5-point Likert scale generated instructors’ integration scores, and six open-ended questions probed instructors’ perspectives.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: The mean integration score was 37.4±6.7. Participants’ perspectives indicated a need for participation of clinical faculty in teaching initial undergraduate years, involving lecturers in curriculum meetings, and integration of assessment. The questionnaire Cronbach-alpha was 0.732 with satisfactory principal-component-analysis.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Medical instructors facilitated integration mainly through concurrent timetabling of similar topics. Moreover, formal consultation through committee meetings, with discipline-based and integrated approaches complementing each other, were in practice to achieve curricular goals.</p>}, number={3}, journal={Canadian Medical Education Journal}, author={Baig, Naila and Siddiqui, Faiza and Baig, Mirza Altamish Muhammad and Khursheed, Iram and Meah, Khubaib Muhammad Shamim}, year={2022}, month={Jun.}, pages={84–90} }