Training medical students in cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal domain competencies: Existing challenges and role of medical teachers

Abstract

The medical students of the current generation are expected to perform a wide range of activities targeted toward the acquisition of a multitude of skills and the attainment of various learning competencies. The purpose of the current review is to explore the challenges in the cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal domains, and to propose an educational plan to respond to the challenges defined in the cognitive domain. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines and a total of 39 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include critical thinking and medical education in the title alone only. The findings of a committee reported that a successful health-care professional will essentially require competence in three domains, namely cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal domain. However, the careful analysis of the medical education delivery system across different parts of the world suggests that we are falling short in our efforts to adequately expose medical students' to these competencies. In the global mission to improve the quality of health-care delivery, we have to take specific measures to ensure the attainment of the desired competencies, and the involvement of teachers will be crucial. In conclusion, considering the dynamism in the health sector, it is the responsibility of educators to enhance the attainment of cognitive competencies of the students. Further, students should be encouraged to reflect, and experiential learning should be regularly practiced to equip the students with intrapersonal skills. Finally, we also have to focus on the attainment of interpersonal competencies, as it prepares them to work as effective members of the team.