SPECTRUM, new ways to learn – Ecuador (AEMPPI)

Name of the activity: SPECTRUM, new ways to learn

Country/NMO: Ecuador (AEMPPI)

Program: Medical Education Systems

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Education

General description:

Perhaps, one of the reasons why Ecuador has not advanced as a society, is because of the poor use of the mass media. In addition to, a severe reduction in the promotion of science, art and culture by those who make the government and population.

Thus, SPECTRUM aims to build and strengthen a culture of knowledge within the medical and general communities by writing articles on issues that frequently occurs, as for example: Alzheimer, HIV / AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Tuberculosis, Parkinson, and others.

As such, SPECTRUM consists in seven phases, however, the following are of major:
1. Publication of the call for application (official page of AEMPPI – UCuenca, last Sunday of each month).
2. Random selection of participants and the sending requirements to be developed for them.
3. Reception of works, exhaustive edition, and elaboration of the design and layout.
4. Submission of final work to the local organization, and of this to the VPP and VPI for final observations and its publication on Issuu.com.
5. Publication of the monthly edition (page of the local organization).

Focus area:

As a science magazine, SPECTRUM seeks to cover the following areas: 1) Empower to medical students about their rights and responsibilities, 2) Strengthen a humanistic and consciousness culture in medical societies, 3) Provide information about health problems to the general society, it from the historical perspective, clinical cases, current research and others. All of this, with the purpose to generate health promotion and prevention.

Problem statement:

First,
We live in a society built around marketing and mass technologies, where the most important thing is to read for meeting needs. Consequently, thousands of dollars are invested for generating “knowledge” about products, offers and promotions; through Internet, TV, etc., and the most trivial, the printing and distribution of booklets that end up in a trash. With this, instead of creating knowledge about science, art and culture, what is being doing is enlarge gaps.

Second,
There are many institutions that have means of disseminating information about their searching and realized activities, this, in the field of medicine and other sciences. As for example, REDU of the “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México” (UNAM), and FOCUS of the “Universidad Politécnica del Litoral” (ESPOL). Our faculty – Medical Sciences at Universidad de Cuenca – does not have as described above, and our purpose is creating it.

Three,
In view of the enormous loss of human principles in our career – throughout the years –, we are committed to foster the development of abilities and strengthen a galena culture of awareness and responsibility, no only at personal level, but entirely social.

Fourth,
Meet the demand of knowledge about issues that usually occur in general societies, but which in turn are unknown and thus, avoid long-term problems.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

Our groups are,

1. Target group: medical students who respond to the call – they can be members of AEMPPI Ecuador or not –. Also, teachers and authorities committed to the development of our health system. In addition, certain members of IFMSA, AEMPPI – Ecuador and AEMPPI – UCuenca.

2. Group of beneficiaries: medical societies and general community.

Objectives and indicators of success:

General objective:
To generate knowledge about important issues in Medicine and Surgery career and in general society, by writing and publishing articles that cover topics related to medical education and health systems, this, for the duration of the activity and its monthly publication, and the participation of authors and readers that in number (as a minimum) correspond to 10 and 60 people, respectively.

Specific objectives:
1. To encourage a writing culture within the medical community through the respective call, via online. (Indicator, minimum 10 people for each edition.)
2. To raise-awareness among medical students and general society about the importance of disseminating science through social networks and other media, publication of opinions. (Indicator, minimum 3 people for every two editions.)
3. To know the impact generated by the project through the application of questionnaires. (Indicator, 50 per cent of the participants – authors and readers – for each edition.)

Methodology:

SPECTRUM, is a non-profit project. The only thing it seek is the participation of people committed to themselves – as well as students and future health professionals – thought of the development of their points of view on specific topics. Also, its presentation consists as follows:

1. Publication of the respective call on the official page of the local organization, AEMPPI – UCuenca.
2. Reception of forms whose senders are medical students, who may as well not be members of AEMPPI – UCuenca and AEMPPI – Ecuador.
3. Random selection of the participants for each one of the points to develop, and the sending of requirements to comply.
4. Compilation of works and its exhausted revision and. Also, the design and layout of the edition.
5. Submission of the final work to the local organization’s directive, followed by the submission to the VPP and VPI of AEMPPI – Ecuador for final observations and its publication on Issuu.com.
6. Anticipate to the medical and general community about the edition and the topics to be developed, through the publication of videos, opinions and flyers in the official pages of the organizations already mentioned.
7. Publication of SPECTRUM through the aforementioned media.

Plans for evaluation:

At the end of SPECTRUM and its monthly editions, the online consultation of 50 per cent of the participants is proposed, both for authors (response to call for articles) and readers (visits generated in Issuu.com).
All this, emphasizing aspects such as: the quality of information provided by SPECTRUM, the sections that should be added or improved, the relevance of the activity in the context, among others.