PRINCIPLES OF CLINICAL MEDICINE - AN INTERDISCIPLINARY INTEGRATED 2-YEAR LONGITUDINAL COURSE

In keeping with the Report of the Panel on the General Professional Ed ucation of the Physician (Association of American Medical Colleges 198 4), Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) School of Medicine is in the midst of revising its curriculum. After a 4-year process, the Curr iculum Committee mandated development of the Principles of Clinical Me dicine course, a 2-year longitudinal course integrating input from bot h basic and clinical science departments. We describe the steps leadin g to the course's implementation, its administrative and organizationa l structure, the evaluation of student performance, teacher training, course curriculum, and the use of interdisciplinary teaching. This cou rse embodies many of the changes called for in the AAMC Report and ser ves as a model for interdisciplinary education.