Clinical Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery

Author: Yang Zhanquan, Dong Zhen, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: For half a century, higher medical schools both domestically and internationally have adopted a "subject-centered" curriculum system for teaching otolaryngology and the textbooks published. This system emphasizes the systematicity and specialization of the discipline in the teaching process. Currently, clinical medicine teaching in China lists otolaryngology as a non-mainstream course, with only 24 hours of theoretical instruction and another 24 hours of practical training. With such limited class hours, teaching under the "subject-centered" curriculum system results in superficial content and hinders systematic learning. Lectures are often delivered verbatim from textbooks, unchanged for years, lacking innovation. This not only affects teachers' enthusiasm but also reduces students' interest in the subject, as they believe it offers little help for their future work.
The majority of students we teach will pursue careers in clinical main disciplines (internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics) or become community general practitioners after graduation (only a very small number become otolaryngologists). The content we teach is also relatively superficial and fragmented in terms of otolaryngology. How can our otolaryngology teaching be aligned with the clinical needs of the vast majority of students after graduation? How can otolaryngology truly become an indispensable part of clinical medicine teaching? These should be the primary goals of our curriculum development.
Therefore, considering the clinical needs of the majority of students after graduation, we have made significant reforms to the content of the otolaryngology curriculum, establishing a "problem-centered" curriculum system. This involves, without increasing the original class hours or compromising the fundamental teaching requirements of otolaryngology, adopting the perspective of "seeing the world through the five senses" and teaching important clinical problems closely related to main clinical disciplines from the perspective of otolaryngology, thereby meeting the needs of most students after graduation.
Through such a design, it is hoped that not only will students' self-learning abilities, thinking skills, practical skills, and independent problem-solving abilities be cultivated, but it will also promote the improvement of teachers' proficiency. This can thereby motivate both teaching and learning, creating a vibrant teaching environment. This is the original intention behind writing this textbook.
Undoubtedly, this attempt will undoubtedly have many problems and shortcomings, some of which may even be flawed. However, we must continue to pursue reform and innovation, and we hope to receive guidance from teachers and assistance from students in future work to continuously refine this reform and achieve the desired results.