More behavioral, social sciences education needed

An IOM report says aspiring physicians should have a good undergraduate foundation in these areas and encourages medical schools to integrate these disciplines into courses.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. April 12, 2004.

Incorporating behavioral and social science instruction into medical school curriculum is not merely advisable, according to a new Institute of Medicine report, it is no longer acceptable not to do so.

Noting that the top three causes of preventable deaths in the United States are smoking, sedentary lifestyle/poor diet and alcohol abuse, the report declares that efforts within standard medical practice to change these behaviors appear to be "less than successful."

Entitled "Improving Medical Education: Enhancing the Behavioral and Social Science Content of Medical School Curricula," the report assesses how behavioral and social sciences are currently taught, makes recommendations on what should be taught and how, and then lists strategies for making this happen.

If these strategies are successful, the report predicts "measurable improvements in the health of Americans," brought about by physicians who "recognize, understand, and effectively respond to patients as individuals, not just to their symptoms."

Neal A. Vanselow, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at Tulane University, chaired the committee that wrote the report. He acknowledged that changing attitudes and curricula will not be an easy task.

"The medical school curriculum is crowded," Dr. Vanselow said. "If you put in something new, you have to take something out, and people get very protective of what they teach. Still, I think the worse thing you could ever do is to have curricula that never change."