Quality assurance of community based undergraduate medical curricula: A cross-sectional survey

Because of the increasing contribution of university departments of general practice to the undergraduate curriculum in UK medical schools, involving large numbers of general practices and community based teachers, quality assurance of these 'distributed' curricula is essential. We have conducted a cross-sectional survey of all UK university departments of general practice to determine how they are approaching the task of quality assurance of their community based curricula. The response rate to our survey was over 85%. Most departments now contribute across all years of the undergraduate curriculum providing an average of 13% of total curriculum time. Over 85% of departments were confident that the teaching delivered in their community based programmes was consistent with the aims, objectives and content of their core curricula and also in the quality of their community based teachers. Whilst the majority of departments employed student feedback and feedback from external examiners as part of their quality assurance mechanisms, a minority (24%) used feedback from patients. Almost all departments undertook practice visits and direct observation of teaching and peer review. Most departments would dispense with poorly performing teachers identified through these mechanisms. Quality assurance is being taken seriously by the university departments of general practice. The results of this survey also indicate areas in which both established and newly created medical schools can make further progress towards ensuring high-quality community based undergraduate teaching.