The curriculum at the University of Washington places responsibility on the student in planning his education. Four entering classes elected a high number of credits in anatomy and pharmacology. A need for basic science courses is perceived by the medical student, and their voluntary election is bound to facilitate learning. (Editor/PG)

A 2-month program for third-year students at Yeshiva's Albert Einstein College of Medicine that provides a model for integrating basic sciences and clinical training is described. It demonstrates the importance of lifelong learning in a field that constantly changes. (Author/MLW)

The curricular response of colleges to conflict among scientific and medical experts regarding the application of professional knowledge and technical expertise to public policy and patient care is examined. An alternative philosophy of education is proposed. Reform is seen as impossible without redefining the liberal arts tradition of…

The impact of the new biology on what, how, and why persons learn in medicine is discussed. The transformation of medical education is reflected in the radical changes in views of man as organism that are arising from new discoveries in molecular and cellular biology. (MLW)

Four groups of medical school matriculants (B.A. degrees in social sciences, humanities, science, and B.S. degrees in science) were studied. No significant difference was found among the four groups on yearly grade-point averages in medical school or on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners. (Author/MLW)

A study to develop an easy-to-use prediction rule that would identify students at risk for failing the National Board of Medical Examiners Part I examination is reported. The predictors were limited to the students' academic performance in medical school. (MLW)

Medical science, according to the author, is in a primitive stage of development. He traces the science of infection, beginning around 1875, not developed enough to be considered an applied science until the 1930's, and points out that we are only halfway in basic scientific understanding of such diseases as cancer, nephritis, and schizophrenia.…

A peer tutorial program in the basic sciences implemented at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is evaluated. The grades of students receiving peer tutorials were analyzed and questionnaires were mailed to each participant soliciting their evaluation of services received. Future cost-benefit evaluations are planned. (Author/MLW)

Once admitted to the regular, four-year doctor of medicine program, students with Ph.D science degress may apply to the Medical Science Training Placement and Curriculum Committee at the Washington University School of Medicine for approval to complete medical school in three years. The program is described. (MLW)

Author believes the Council of Academic Societies is in a unique position to bring together concerned experts to formulate new patterns of representation of basic medical science in modern medical centers. (Editor)

A comparison of premedical students' course choices with those of other science and liberal arts students confirmed that premedical students' preparation for medical school is not broad-based, and course selection is apparently based on competition for medical school admission. (MSE)