As medical schools begin to implement their new curricula under the gu
idance of Tomorrow's Doctors, the authors wish to raise some discussio
n on the form and content of the special study module (SSM) component.
In order to do this they put forward in this paper proposals for an S
SM in Medicine and Literature. This course has been designed jointly a
nd will be run concurrently in three Scottish medical schools: Glasgow
, Aberdeen and Dundee. Arguments for the course's acceptability to fac
ulties of medicine and to students are discussed and its inclusion in
the curriculum in terms of its educational impact, skills training, ef
fect on personal development and broadening of the student's perspecti
ve are justified. The course structure, content and assessment procedu
res are described and a reading list proposed. The General Medical Cou
ncil points out that SSMs should be seen as opportunities for innovati
on and this course demands a different educational approach from the s
tandard objectives-led approach of most medical education. A process-l
ed model is more appropriate as it stresses the way that students deve
lop while taking the course rather than the end point reached at its f
inish.