Comparison of Curricula of BS Medical Imaging in UAE and Selected Countries

Introduction

Medical imaging is a technique that enables the visualization of human tissues and organs, allowing the study of their anatomy and functions for therapeutic reasons. Medical imaging techniques are employed to reveal internal structures that exist beneath the skin and bones, to detect anomalies and aid in the treatment of illnesses.¹ It encompasses a wide range of techniques, including radiology, which utilizes imaging tools such as X-ray radiography, mammography, panoramic fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound. Gamma cameras, positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are examples of nuclear medicine imaging techniques.²

According to Karami et al., over 10 million imaging procedures are reportedly performed daily worldwide. As a result, medical imaging is essential to the health care of all demographic groups.^3,4 Graduates of the Medical Imaging Sciences program will work in various fields of medical diagnostic imaging, including conventional radiography, CT, MRI, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. After completing the Bachelor's program, graduates will be qualified to perform a variety of expert tasks, including positioning the patient correctly for the best imaging results, adjusting radiographic exposure factors to improve image quality while lowering patient radiation dose, and successfully utilising various imaging modalities to obtain images of different patient body parts in order to visualise injuries and potential diseases. The number of articles published and studies conducted on the curriculum followed in imaging technology courses till this point is extremely limited.

Liwa College (LC), Sharjah University (SU), Higher College of Technology (HCT), Fatima College (FC), and Gulf Medical University (GMU) are the five higher education institutions in the UAE that offer the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Medical Imaging degree. These courses provide students a combination of classroom instructions and clinical experience that provides them the information, abilities, and competences they need to function within the healthcare services system and effectively fulfil the needs of patients from a medical imaging standpoint.

During the last two decades, the higher education sector in Jordan and Sudan, witnessed a noticeable development shown by the growing number of institutions of higher education, enrolled students and teaching staff. However, compared to these countries, India's Higher Education system is the world's third largest with regard to students, exceeding United States and China.^5,6 It is worth noting that, the general admission requirement for Bachelor program in Qatar, Australia, Bahrain, Saudia Arabia and USA universities is to complete a minimum of 12 years of formal school education. In addition, some universities require to take a recognised English language test no more than two years before the start of the course.

In this context, the purpose of this work was to present and compare existing curricula of the BS Medical Imaging program in the UAE and the selected countries with particular emphasis on the conditions to be met by candidates applying for admission to the course, clinical training, degree obtained, and qualifications received by graduates.

Materials and Methods

In this study, the curricula of the Bachelor of Diagnostic Radiology in UAE were compartitively assessed with ten other universities at Bachelor level, namely: Liwa College Higher College of Technology (UAE), Fatima College (UAE), Sharjah University (UAE), Gulf Medical University (UAE), King Abdulaziz University (KSA), Elrazi University (Sudan), Jordan University of Science and Technology (Jordan), Manipal College of Health Professionals (India), Kuwait University, University of Bahrain, Wayne State University (USA), University of Doha for Science and Technology (Qatar), Najran University (KSA) and Queensland University (Australia). Curiculla and study plans for each program were obtained from the websites of the respective universities. The data were collected during the period January 2024 - February 2024.

The comparative analysis was made using the method of document examination. Document analysis is a systematic procedure for evaluating or reviewing documents - both printed and electronic material.⁷ Similar to other analytical methods in qualitative research, this method requires the data to be interrogated and interpreted to draw out meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge.

Results

The total credit hours for each university including internship/clinical training, program name and duration are presented in Table 1. From the data presented in Table 1, we can observe that the highest credit hours were noted for the program offered at Elrazi University, Sudan (160 Cr.H) while the lowest were noted for program at Manipal College of Health Professionals (India) and John Patrick University of Health and Applied Sciences (USA) (120 Cr.H).

The number of clinical training/internship courses and their duration are presented in Table 2. A variation among universities in the clinical training/ internship could be observed as it ranged from 3 to 6 courses. The duration of these courses varied from 18 Cr.H to one year.

The variation among universities in basic science and medical science is shown in Table 3. The basic science courses included Biostatistics and Research Methods, and the remaining courses represent the medical science courses. Furthermore, the courses offered by the different universities that belonged to the general education are presented in Table 4. This category includes many courses such as, IT, English, Communication skills, Islamic culture, Logic and critical thinking, Psychology, Fundamentals of innovation and entrepreneurship, Ethics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. In all universities, most general education courses were taken in the first two years of study, especially courses such as English I, English II, and the required Mathematics and Science courses.

The BS medical imaging major courses are presented in Table 5, and it can be observed that there is less variation among UAE universities. The objectives of these major courses are to prepare the students to practice competently and effectively as Medical Imaging professionals in diverse healthcare environments.

In addition, we noticed that some universities have certain unique courses which were not offered in any other university, such as Jurisprudence for Radiographers at Wayne State University (USA), Human Rights at University of Bahrain and General Surgery at Manipal College of Health Professionals (India). Such courses could have been one of the requirements set by the Ministry of Higher Education in the respective countries.

Discussion

Higher education institutions create a productive learning environment and structured model towards the development and enhancement of students’ life skills, professionalism, and employability.^8,9 To come together with these objectives, higher education institutions execute a series of curricula designed to achieve academic and interpersonal goals (such as problem solving) set for students.^10,11

The program duration in the UAE and the other studied universities was noted to be four years (Table 1). Merhar Gholami in an international comparative study evaluated the curriculum for B.S. of Radiologic Technology in Iran.¹² He reported that the duration of study differed across various countries. For instance, in most of the European countries, it is for a duration of three years, while the same is for four years in Iran. In addition, he reported that the title of course was Radiology Technology in Iran, USA, and Saudi Arabia, while it is named Diagnostic Radiography in most European countries.

As per the UAE Ministry of Education (MOE), for the recognition of university certificates issued from outside the UAE, a Bachelor’s degree student must have spent at least three years of study at any university that follows the annual system, or alternatively 120 accredited hours as per the semester system, 180 accredited hours as per the quarter system or at least 240 credits as per the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).¹³

The educational environment for diagnostic imaging students involves a didactic (classroom) as well as clinical (lab or a hospital) training environment. It is in these settings where the courses’ syllabus (patient care, anatomy, imaging techniques, equipment operation and radiation protection) is taught to the students in the class. As stated by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) (2018), it is in the clinical learning environment of the curriculum where the didactic knowledge is brought into practice and is where students can perfect their skills through experience and eventual assessment.¹⁴ Hence, the clinical learning environment is the primary component of the students’ education as it enhances and cultivates their experiences to develop competence. The clinical instructor as well as practitioner are the main individuals to influence the learning of the students in a clinical learning environment.^15,16

From the data presented in Table 3, it can be observed that Anatomy and Physiology courses were common in the curricula of all the studied universities. However, there is a great variation in the remaining courses. Biostatistics and Research Methods were included in 13 and 10 university programs, respectively. The Microbiology course was noted in just two universities: Manipal College of Health Professionals and the University of Bahrain. The Queensland University offered only three courses from this category: Physiology, Anatomy and Biostatistics.

Similar to the Basic and Medical Science courses, there is a great variation among universities in the General Education courses. For example, the course Logic and Critical Thinking was offered by only four universities. The Queensland University does not offer any course from this category.

The major courses of Liwa College matching that of Jordan University of Science and Technology are outlined in Table 5. Furthermore, Alrazi University (Sudan) showed the highest similarity to the UAE universities (variation in Fluoroscopy course only). The Queensland University (Australia) showed highest variation in major courses compared to the UAE universities. Certain universities used the course names, such as Radiographic positioning, Radiographic technique, Imaging procedure and Advanced imaging techniques. However, we could not find a course description on their websites for classifying these courses according to the categories outlined in Table 5.

Conclusion

To conclude, our results showed that the UAE curriculum of Bachelor of Science in Medical Imaging does not differ significantly from those of other international universities.

The program duration of four years was found common for all universities. Among all the studied universities, Alrazi University showed the highest similarity to the UAE universities in major courses, while the Queensland University (Australia) showed the highest variation.

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.