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Purpose This study aimed to develop a test scale to measure the character qualities of medical students as a follow-up study on the 8 core character qualities revealed in a previous report. Methods In total, 160 preliminary items were developed to measure 8 core character qualities. Twenty questions were assigned to each quality, and a questionnaire survey was conducted among 856 students in 5 medical schools in Korea. Using the partial credit model, polytomous item response theory analysis was carried out to analyze the goodness-of-fit, followed by exploratory factor analysis. Finally, confirmatory factor and reliability analyses were conducted with the final selected items. Results The preliminary items for the 8 core character qualities were administered to the participants. Data from 767 students were included in the final analysis. Of the 160 preliminary items, 25 were removed by classical test theory analysis and 17 more by polytomous item response theory assessment. A total of 118 items and sub-factors were selected for exploratory factor analysis. Finally, 79 items were selected, and the validity and reliability were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis and intra-item relevance analysis. Conclusion The character qualities test scale developed through this study can be used to measure the character qualities corresponding to the educational goals and visions of individual medical schools in Korea. Furthermore, this measurement tool can serve as primary data for developing character qualities tools tailored to each medical school’s vision and educational goals.

Purpose This follow-up study focused on 3 overarching questions: what keywords can be extracted from experts’ definitions of character?; what is the operational definition of character for medical students?; and what possible solutions can be suggested to address the issues of character education that were identified in the previous study? Methods Sixty-three medical education experts recruited through expert sampling and 19 non-medical education experts recruited through snowball sampling answered a questionnaire that addressed the 3 major questions of the study. The responses were analyzed for descriptive statistics with supplementary keyword extraction tools, including the Cortical and Monkey keyword extractors. Results A total of 93 definitional statements were counted, and 138 keyword terms were extracted. The top 5 keyword terms mentioned by the medical education experts were “patient”, “empathy”, “qualities”, “attitude”, and “ability”. These keyword terms were quite different from those mentioned by the non-medical education experts. Based on the extracted keywords, an operational definition of character education by the medical education expert group was presented as follows: the basic qualities and ability to empathize with patients affected by illness based on respect for patients and others. Various methods were proposed to solve the issue of character education, and many of them pointed to curriculum development, such as improvements in teaching and learning methods and evaluation methods, including role modeling. Conclusion A clear statement of the concept of character education is the start to resolve issues of character education. Character education improvements will be possible at the institutional level according to the above results.

Abstract Background As medical doctors must have a strong sense of ethics, character education is particularly important for them compared with other professions. This follow-up study aimed to establish the foundation for developing a character education program in medical schools by (1) conducting a survey among medical students on the self-assessment of one’s character based on eight qualities (service and sacrifice, empathy and communication, care and respect, honesty and humility, responsibility and calling, collaboration and magnanimity, creativity and positivity, patience and leadership), the perceived importance of character, and satisfaction with character education at medical school, and (2) analyzing the usefulness of learning methods for acquiring character elements. It also aimed at verifying the (3) gender differences in self-evaluation of character elements, and (4) academic-year differences in the survey items. Methods Medical students’ perceptions were identified through a questionnaire survey among 856 medical students from five South Korean medical schools. The questionnaire comprised items on the achievement level of the character element, importance of character in the medical curriculum, satisfaction with character education in medical schools, and the learning method’s degree of helpfulness. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to compare responses. Results The importance of eight-character qualities had high average scores, whereas the average scores for satisfaction with character education and achievement level were comparatively low. For the question on each learning method’s helpfulness in gaining the eight-character qualities, the score of team-based learning activities was the highest, followed by club activities, relationships with peers, role modeling of professors, and course study. Regarding satisfaction with character education, male students gave higher scores than female students, manifesting a statistically significant difference. Regarding the importance of the character element in medical education, statistically significant differences existed based on academic year. Conclusion Medical students’ perceptions of character education varied according to gender and academic year. They regarded character education highly but were unsatisfied with the current character education at medical schools. Thus, diverse character education curricula must be developed and implemented along with extra-curricular character programs. An effective approach to implementing character education can be discovered by verifying the differences in students’ perceptions based on the character education courses in medical schools.

This preliminary study aimed to determine how medical students perceive character education in Korea. A structured survey questionnaire was distributed to 10 medical students between September and December 2018, of whom 6 students replied. Students’ responses were classified into elements, which were also categorized. Twenty-nine core elements of characters in 8 categories were verified as essential for doctors and as needs for character education. The most frequently suggested categories were “care and respect,” “empathy and communication,” and “responsibility and calling.” Participants also stated that various forms of character education are necessary and that they were not satisfied with the teaching methods of the character education that they had received. These results verified the most essential character traits for doctors and identified problems related to current character education. The results of this study will be helpful for preparing the character education curriculum in medical schools.

Purpose Medicine requires uniquely high levels of motivation, ethics, and altruistic values and behavior. This study was conducted to redefine character education in medical education and to identify and evaluate the core elements of physicians’ character. Methods A 3-round Delphi survey was conducted among professors of medical education, physicians, experts from nursing schools, and a head nurse in Korea. A consultant group (CG) was formed to prepare the Delphi survey, discuss the research results, and set directions for future initiatives. The 3 rounds of the Delphi survey were conducted between September 2018 and February 2019. Results From the first-round Delphi survey, which inquired about the 10 key character elements required for medical students, a total of 420 elements were collected. The top 10 categories were selected and classified. After the second and third rounds of the Delphi consensus process and a series of CG meetings, the following 8 core categorical elements were identified: service and sacrifice, empathy and communication, care and respect, honesty and humility, responsibility and calling, collaboration and magnanimity, creativity and positivity, and patience and leadership. The average score of medical graduates for the core elements ranged from 2.45 to 3.46 (standard deviation, 0.23–0.60) on a 5-point Likert scale. Conclusion Eight core categorical elements of the character of medical students were identified. The results of this study can be used as a reference for establishing the goals and desired outcomes of character education at the level of undergraduate or graduate medical education.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to implement a systematic career coaching program for medical students and to evaluate its effectiveness. Methods First-year medical students of Konyang University College of Medicine took part in the FLEX Mentoring II: Career Coaching Program from September to December in 2016 and 2017. This program included 16 weekly sessions, comprising a total of 32 hours. The students took the Career Readiness Inventory before and after the program, as a pre- and post-test of the program. Data from 100 students were used (46 students in 2016, 54 students in 2017) for the evaluation. Results Medical students’ career readiness pre-test was rated as medium. In particular, many students were at a low level in terms of ‘support from colleagues and peers’ (53.0%), ‘career decision’ (48.0%), and ‘efforts for job preparation’ (60.0%). After 16 sessions of a systematic career coaching program, their career readiness level showed a significant increase except for ‘career decision’ (t= 4.242, P= 0.001) and ‘independence’ (t= 0.731, P= 0.466), a sub-factor of ‘career maturity.’ Conclusion The career readiness level of medical students was not sufficiently high. However, a semester of educational training in a systematic career coaching program helped the students to be better prepared for their career. In particular, the significant reduction in the ‘career decision’ variable after the program can be interpreted as indicating that the students changed their behavior to explore and approach their career more seriously and carefully, which also underscores the need for the implementation of career coaching programs in medical schools.

Purpose Although there are over 40,000 licensed radiological technologists (RTs) in Korea, job competency standards have yet to be defined. This study aims to clarify the job competency of Korean RTs. Methods A task force team of 11 professional RTs were recruited in order to analyze the job competency of domestic and international RTs. A draft for the job competency of Korean RTs was prepared. A survey was then conducted sampling RTs and the attitudes of their competencies were recorded from May 21 to July 30, 2016. Results We identified five modules of professionalism, patient management, health and safety, operation of equipment, and procedure management and 131 detailed job competencies for RTs in Korea. “Health and safety” had the highest average score and “professionalism” had the lowest average score for both job performance and importance. The content validity ratios for the 131 subcompetencies were mostly valid. Conclusion Establishment of standard guidelines for RT job competency for multidisciplinary healthcare at medical institutions may be possible based on our results, which will help educators of RT training institutions to clarify their training and education.