The first issue for discussion was the question of whether requiring a biochemistry course for admission to medical school would allow us to focus on medical biochemistry in our courses. Participants agreed that there are large differences in the level of preparation in entering medical students ranging from no background to advanced degrees in biochemistry. Whether requiring a course in biochemistry would make a significant difference was unclear since there is variation in what is taught in undergraduate courses. Many participants commented that there are multiple courses in different programs that they are expected to teach and not enough faculty to do the job well. Many felt that teaching is not valued in their institution. In addition, many also felt that there is a lack of clinical input in the basic science curriculum. Several participants were frustrated by friction among the basic science departments at their institution. A few schools have developed integrated courses which, among other benefits, increase faculty cooperation. Faculty from those schools acknowledged that developing integrated courses is very time consuming and it can be difficult to get all faculty to support the change. Student attitudes toward biochemistry are a common problem – many fear it (it’s chemistry) and/or feel that it is not relevant to medicine. A well taught course with appropriate clinical content can often win over students. All participants agree that finding an appropriate biochemistry textbook is a problem. Most of the well-known texts are directed to undergraduates and contain too much irrelevant material and too little medical. Most members of the group prepare handouts for their students. Interest was expressed in finding a way to exchange figures and illustrations that members of the group have prepared for use in their handouts. The last issue raised was the need for reinforcement of basic science in the clinical years. While all agreed this was needed, no conclusive means for doing so were readily apparent. It was considered that this would be an appropriate topic for a future IAMSE meeting. All participants enthusiastically support discipline-based round table
discussions at future IAMSE meetings. Topics proposed for next year
are teaching strategies and core content.
|