In a pioneering initiative in Spain, the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Hospital del Mar have carried out a study to gather citizens’ expectations of the doctors of the future, based on focus groups made up of intensive users of health services. These meetings began in the summer of 2023 with users of different ages, genders and backgrounds.
“It has been an exercise in knowledge transfer that perfectly illustrates the relationship between the hospital and the university”
Gema Revuelta (UPF), coordinator of the study.
The aim was to identify society’s demands on health professionals. These include
- More humane and personalised treatment
- Better listening skills
- Better management of their mistakes
- Ongoing training in new technologies
- Attention to mental health care
- Collaboration between professionals
- Greater commitment to prevention
Based on the results of this study, UPF has begun to implement changes to its undergraduate degree in medicine, with the aim of preparing future professionals to better meet the needs identified. The content of various subjects has been revised and strengthened, and new subjects have been created, explains Joan Ramon Masclans, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences at UPF and Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital del Mar, “to ensure that students acquire the necessary skills to meet the demands of the public, with a more integrated and holistic training“. This pioneering project is an example of collaboration between the academic and health communities to improve medical training and patient care.
