Medical students’ perspective on “Barriers of critical thinking in medical students’ curriculum from the viewpoint of medical education experts: A qualitative study”

We would like to thank Kasalaei et al. (1) for their paper on assessing the barriers to critical thinking in medical students at Shiraz University of Medical Science. As penultimate year medical students, we strongly agree on the importance of critical thinking in the development of highly qualified doctors. Kasalaei et al. provided valuable insight since critical thinking is weak in medical students, especially in their earlier years of medical school. We offer a perspective into how these barriers may be overcome and draw from our own experiences from a London-based medical school. In our opinion, many of the categories described provide an indication of a much-needed review of the educational curriculum within the medical school. Certain barriers such as lack of confidence, motivation, and intellectual tension including anxiety, stress and fatigue are all too common sights among the students in the medical profession (2). This is one of the reasons why the medical professionals may have higher suicide rates compared to the general population (3). Medical school is usually between 5-6 years which reflects not only the larger content that is needed to be taught, but the added responsibility of becoming a safe and competent doctor. We think there is ample opportunity for students to develop their critical thinking skills in this time frame without adding to pressures they face. This can be achieved by promoting a curriculum which encourages the students to think critically in order to learn and retain the content delivered at medical school (4).