Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 272, Issue 6 36-S46, Copyright © 1997 by American Physiological Society
A new PhD training track: a proposal to improve basic science teaching
J. J. Smith, S. M. Koethe and H. V. Forster
Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226, USA.
There has been increasing criticism of medical basic science teaching; much
of this has focused on overcrowding of the curriculum, inadequate
application to clinical medicine, and the limited commitment of the faculty
to teach. We have analyzed some of the factors that may contribute to these
complaints, such as the fragmentation of physiology and the conflicting
roles of the medical basic scientist. We have also reviewed some previous
suggestions for improving basic science teaching. We suggest that a basic
scientist with a background of integrative physiology, pharmacology,
anatomy, and pathology, with a special emphasis on pathophysiology, would
be well qualified to assume an important role in the medical education of
the future. Because there is at present no established training program of
this type, we have proposed a PhD training track with this objective and
have listed some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a program.
