Towards improving soft skills of medical education in the 21st century: A literature review

Abstract

<span lang="EN-US">Global challenge forced medical education to be transformative in preparing the future health care professional. Student-centered learning (SCL) has been regarded as the most suitable medical curriculum approach to meet the health care demand. Indonesia, with its hierarchical and collectivistic culture, has long implemented SCL. The necessary skills are needed to be identified to improve the medical curriculum in Indonesia. We did a literature review to generate soft skills for the health care professionals. We distributed the list to stakeholders and medical teachers for a two-round Delphi study. We identify 26 soft skills through literature review. The Delphi study's first-round yielded 95 responses comparing the expectation and reality of the 26 soft skills in the current medical curriculum. The second round Delphi study was performed towards the similar participants to gather the final set of soft skills recommended for curriculum improvement in medical and health professions education. Soft skills, though considered necessary, are not well-understood yet. The unfamiliarity influenced the irresolute delivery of soft skills in medical schools. Faculty developments are recommended to improve the understanding and capability of teachers to facilitate the learning of soft skills.</span>

Entrepreneurship skills framework for fostering the employability of industrial technology students

“…Studies have shown that hard skills alone are no longer sufficient for survival in the 21st-century world of work [88]. Despite the difference between employers and academics concerning the soft skills needed for employment, the majority of the studies agreed that the importance of non-technical skills cannot be underestimated [29], [89]- [91]. According to the study conducted by Coward [87], non-technical skills are a better predictor of success than technical skills even though, not all soft skills are important for a particular discipline.…”

“…This concept refers to the basic skills required by electrical technology graduates to be proficient, employable and qualified to be self-reliant. Research has shown that among the skills expected of electrical technology students are electrical construction, troubleshooting, installation, testing and measurement among others [26]- [29]. Most of the studies made references to mindset skills such as the willingness to learn, problem-solving and customer service.…”

Challenges and opportunities in cultivating medical students’ competencies: Participatory action research from a hierarchical cultural setting

“…However, the same study also showed that Indonesian society actually wants a more partnership relationship in doctor-patient communication [ 18 ]. The health professional practitioners in this study context also perceived that learning soft skills is essential in the medical curriculum as recommended by the 21 st century learning skills references [ 19 ]. As a result, participants in that study could endorse the role-play method instead of lecturing when teaching soft skills, although lecturing was still the central method in this context [ 19 ].…”

“…The health professional practitioners in this study context also perceived that learning soft skills is essential in the medical curriculum as recommended by the 21 st century learning skills references [ 19 ]. As a result, participants in that study could endorse the role-play method instead of lecturing when teaching soft skills, although lecturing was still the central method in this context [ 19 ]. Other evidence from the same settings also found that mutual feedback is needed in workplace-based clinical settings, which is still rare [ 15 ].…”

Propuesta de un perfil de competencias profesionales para el docente universitario en el campo de las Ciencias de la Salud

“…Sin embargo, el panorama actual de la educación en salud demanda una revisión y expansión de las competencias docentes para adaptarse a los desafíos emergentes. Los desafíos incluyen, pero no se limitan, a la incorporación de nuevas tecnologías, enfoques interdisciplinarios en la atención de la salud, y un énfasis creciente en competencias blandas como la comunicación efectiva y la empatía (1)(2). Además, la evolución de los paradigmas educativos hacia modelos más participativos y centrados en el estudiante requiere una transformación en las metodologías de enseñanza.…”