PATIENT, PHYSICIAN AND SOCIETY - NORTHWESTERN-UNIVERSITY-MEDICAL-SCHOOL

Northwestern University Medical School's Patient, Physician & Society (PPS) course was introduced in 1993 as part of a complete restructurin g of the first- and second-year curriculum. The PPS course meets two a fternoons per week throughout the first two years, with one afternoon focusing on the relationship between patients and physicians and the o ther on that between physicians and society. The Course is designed to provide a comprehensive, integrated introduction to professional skil ls and perspectives. Fourteen distinct curricular units address person al and professional ethics, medical humanities, behavioral sciences, p hysician-patient communication, physical diagnosis and clinical reason ing, health services organization and financing, preventive medicine, and the health of vulnerable groups. Health promotion as a primary goa l of medicine is an underlying theme throughout the course. Active and interactive learning formats afford many opportunities for personal r eflection and discussion. The overall response to the course has been positive, and survey data indicate that students completing PPS report more progress toward the school's fundamental educational goals than do students who had progressed through the first two years before the new curriculum was introduced. Still, a number of students are clearly uncomfortable with educational strategies that give them responsibili ty for finding answers an their own. Contrasts between PPS and the bas ic science courses-in content, presentation, and evaluation-highlight the importance of coordinating and integrating the overall medical sch ool curriculum. Plans for enhancing the course include focusing on fac ulty development and student evaluation, as well as explicitly extendi ng PPS material into the clerkship years.