DOCTORING .3. INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION IN THE CLINICAL YEARS

Despite recent major changes in the practice of medicine, there has be en relatively little change in medical education, particularly in the clinical years. Important areas such as ethics, domestic violence, nut rition, preventive medicine, and clinical decision making have been ne glected in the curriculum. However, in 1994 the UCLA School of Medicin e began to implement Doctoring III, a multidisciplinary, centralized, longitudinal course that spans the third year of medical school. This course addresses many underrepresented topics. Students spend one day every other week in Doctoring III. Half of the day is spent in communi ty-based clinical sites and the other half is spent in small-group tea ching sessions. In the small groups, students and faculty follow and m anage a panel of simulated patients over the course of the year. The s tudents thus have the opportunity to develop a sense of the progressio n of common illnesses over time and to explore related ethical, social and other concerns. The approach taken in Doctoring III has enabled t he UCLA School of Medicine to overcome many barriers to curricular cha nge, and it may serve as a model for incorporating the teaching of und errepresented topics in the clinical years.