Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate a recent medical school curriculum change at our institution 3 years ago; specifically: shortening the Psychiatry core clerkship from 4 to 3 weeks and adding an optional 6-week core/elective combination rotation in lieu of the 3-week core. The authors aimed to determine whether clerkship length was…

The biochemistry course at Stanford Medical School has been redesigned to incorporate online lectures. The Stanford instructors provide short online presentations then use class time for interactive discussions of clinical vignettes to highlight the biochemical basis of various diseases. Contemporary video capture equipment makes video lectures…

Students often attain memorable experiences from cadaver dissections through reflective writing. For many, facing a dissection for the first time elicits a wide range of emotions. These may include thoughts of their own mortality to the sheer admiration of knowing that someone cared enough to help others learn about the body, even in death. Poems…

Gross anatomy is not only a rite of passage for medical students as they enter the world of practicing medicine but may also be an unrecognized fork in the road in their pursuit of choosing a medical specialty. Otolaryngology: head and neck surgery tends to be poorly represented in medical school curriculum, often only offered as an elective…

Given the chorus of approval for primary care emanating from every party to the health reform debate, one might suppose that the future for primary physicians is bright. Yet this is far from certain. And when one looks to history and recognizes that primary care medicine has failed virtually every conceivable market test in recent years, its…

Anatomy education in Pakistan is facing many of the same challenges as in other parts of the world. Roughly, a decade ago, all medical and dental colleges in Pakistan emphasized anatomy as a core basic discipline within a traditional medical science curriculum. Now institutions are adopting problem based learning (PBL) teaching philosophies, and…

Traditional medical school curricula have made a clear demarcation between the basic biomedical sciences and the clinical years. It is our view that a comprehensive medical education necessarily involves an increased correlation between basic science knowledge and its clinical applications. A basic anatomy course should have two main objectives:…

Discusses the impact of a report on tenure and academic freedom at medical schools by the American Association of University Professors' special Subcommittee on Medical Schools. The report calls for adequate faculty consultation, consistency with general academic standards, and scrupulous observance of fairness and due process in regard to tenure…

Medical schools are recognizing that students require explicit discussion and analysis of ethical issues to assure high standards of professional practice. Recognition that the same approach is needed in biomedical research has begun to emerge. (Author/MLW)

Charges of plagiarism led to the resignation of Dr. Shervert Frazier from Harvard Medical School. Examines broader implications surrounding the dismissal of tenured faculty for "cause." Summarizes decision in "McConnell v. Howard University" as indicative that dismissal for cause is a genuine issue of fact subject to judicial…

Medical school faculty members' broad understanding of their domains has atrophied as specialization has increased. Medical students need teachers who can integrate the specific areas of a subject with overarching themes. Expanding the values of the university to once again include the scholarship of integration and teaching would provide the best…

The academic performance consequences of relying solely on non-cognitive factors for selecting applicants above a GPA and MCAT threshold have not been fully considered in the literature. This commentary considers the impact of using a "threshold approach" on academic performance as assessed with the USMLE Step 1.

The relation between society and its universities and the balance among the various roles of the universities have not been stable, and tenure policies will also continue to change. Institutional leadership must be aware of this and of the essential plasticity of tenure. (Author/MSE)

Notes that, in 1957, University of Oregon Medical School was first medical school to create department of Medical Psychology. Chair of that department from its inception to present relates personal perspective on history and development of the department during its first 35 years of existence. (Author/NB)

The funding of postgraduate medical education through the "approved educational activities" of teaching hospitals needs to reevaluated. Since it is considered impossible to separate patient case and educational activities, drawing the line for financial purposes between these activities will be controversial and critical for teaching…