The Doctor's Debate

When the Medical School faculty this afternoon resumes its debate on curriculum reform, it should consider the immediate appointment of committees to plan inter-departmental courses.

Such courses are key to any basic revision. The present system attempts to teach students everything there is to know about every field; it succeeds only in burdening them with an overwhelming mass of factual information. By coordinating material presented by the departments it will be possible to reduce the required workload and allow students to spend more time exploring elective courses.

Unfortunately, a number of professors appear reluctant to sacrifice departmental autonomy for a more coherent and less unwieldy course of study. The wide range of opinions expressed at last month's faculty meeting indicates that it may be quite some time before Med School professors agree just how far to go in changing the way medicine is taught.

The creation of groups to draft possible inter-departmental courses should not, however, wait upon, extended faculty debate. If critics are to be won over, they will have to be convinced that solid inter-departmental courses can be mapped out which will give students adequate exposure to all of the important fields of study.

Clearly the faculty, meeting once a month, will not be able to draw up concrete plans for the courses that will be discussed. Small groups of professors will have to sit down for long hours together to figure out precisely what each inter-departmental course would teach. They should begin as soon as possible.