J. Basic. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(6)151-157, 2014 © 2014, TextRoad Publication ISSN 2090-4304 Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research www.textroad.com * Corresponding Author: Muhamed Osman, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine & Defence Health, University Pertahanan National Malaysia (UPNM), Kem Sungai Besi, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: mtosman2004@gmail.com Tel:0060390513400 Evaluation of Laboratory Medicine Teaching and Learning by Medical Students in Hybrid Integrated Curriculum. Data from Public Malaysian University Muhamed Osman 1* , Ariza Adnan 2 , Methil Kannan Kutty 3 , Redhwan A. Al-Naggar 4 *1 Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine & Defence Health, University Pertahanan National Malaysia (UPNM), Kem Sungai Besi, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2 Associate Professor, Cluster of Laboratory Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. 3 Professor, Cluster of Laboratory Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. 4 Associate Professor, Population Health and Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Received: April 14, 2014 Accepted: May 20, 2014 ABSTRACT There is an opinion states very little attention paid to laboratory medicine subjects in medical school curricula. The curriculum at Faculty of Medicine, UiTM Malaysia was recently modified to become an integrated hybrid curriculum. This study was conducted to assess the teaching and learning processes of laboratory medicine subjects (Pathology, Medical Microbiology, and Parasitology) in model of hybrid integrated curriculum through an analysis of perceptions of individual medical student at the end of the preclinical years (Year2). 191 students out of 235 Year 2 medical students of batch 2012-2013 were participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 20.97 ±0.50. Majority of the students agreed that there are clear objectives for pathology, microbiology, and parasitology subjects in year 1 and year 2 and the teaching of these subjects enhanced their motivation to learn (89.5%, 92.7%, 93.2%, 82.2%, 73.3%, 86.9%; respectively). Furthermore, the majority of the students were satisfied with the organizational structure of the integrated approach of pathology, microbiology and parasitology (71.7%, 73.8%, and 83.2%; respectively). In the current study, majority of UiTM students reported that laboratory medicine in the new integrated curriculum used a variety of learning strategies that worked for them and more than 80% of participants agreed that the distribution of laboratory medicine classes helped them to understand concepts of basic pathological processes which helped them to better understand and it was reflected in their good performance in their progress tests at the end of the Year 1 and Year2. Our results revealed that majority of the students (77.5%) were satisfied with the integrated structure of laboratory medicine teaching, and majority of participants reported that they understood and learnt a good deal of pathology, microbiology and parasitology subjects in year 1 and year 2 (73.8%, 71.7%, 82.2%; respectively). KEYWORDS: Pathology, Microbiology, Parasitology, laboratory medicine, integrated curriculum. INTRODUCTION A burgeoning body of education research has indicated that incorporating active learning strategies improves understanding and learning [1-3].The major benefits include fostering development of critical thinking, communication, and cooperative learning skills and attitudes and values [4]; promoting concept formation; providing an avenue for discovering misconceptions ; and enhancing motivation. [1, 5] Laboratory Medicine is the field of study that applies and utilizes the scientific investigation to diagnose, treat or better understand disease processes. However, there is an opinion states very little attention paid to laboratory medicine subjects in medical school curricula, because these subjects remain entrenched in standard medical school curricula, while modern medical education has moved in paradigm shift toward the molecular basis of disease and toward more refined methods of diagnosis and therapy. [6] Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia, is a relatively new public medical school in Malaysia, founded in 2003 with an intake of 20 students. The intake dramatically increased over the years to 235 students in the academic session 2012/2013 which is one of the largest intakes among other Malaysian public medical schools. From its inception in 2003 until 2010, the medical training begins with the basic sciences 151