FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Problem Based Learningof 23 years, who is a regular patient atyour unit, approaches and asks to seeyou in private. She tells you that she ismarried with 5 children and is currentlypregnant with her 6 th baby. She asksfor advice about termination of thispregnancy. You inform her that suchservices are not offered at your unit andbesides it is not allowed in Islam to doso. She gets visibly upset and tells youthat she will go to a nearby roadside Daiand get an abortion done if you did nothelp her. You try your best to counselher but she is adamant and leaves yourunit in a hurry.”It is evident from the above scenario thatthe student will consider Islamic verdicton termination of pregnancy whenidentifying the Learning Outcomes forthis trigger. Facilitators can be trainedto explain this issue with reference toQur’an, Hadith and Fiqh. A simple caseof illegitimate abortion can be usedto explain complex concepts such assanctity of life in Islam.In conclusion, PBL appears to be asatisfactory, if not perfect, answer toaddressing many questions relatedto provision of effective IMI inIslamic institutions. The key stepsin placement of Islamic PBL, inessence, are wholehearted institutionalcommitment, involvement of all keyplayers in planning and implementation,extensive curricular planning withIslamic inputs, patient redress ofproblems and open minded approachto constructive critique, and finallywell designed educational research tovalidate the methods as well as resultslocally and internationally.FIMA YearBook 200954