Centre for Policy on Ageing



Social science and medical education in Britain — a sociologic analysis of their relationship
Author(s)	Margot Jefferys
Journal title	International Journal of Health Services, vol 4, no 3, 1974
Pages	pp 549-63
Keywords	Teaching hospitals ; Sociology, Social Science.
Annotation	The introduction of social science teaching into the medical school curriculum in Great Britain has been slow, despite the strong recommendation of the Royal Commission on Medical Education in 1968. Factors responsible for the sluggishness reflect the influence of practitioners in the health care system, the power structure in medical schools, the medical student body, and the social scientists. Their ambivalence towards social science teaching has inhibited innovatory programmes. The analysis suggests that the social sciences will not make an effective contribution to medical education while these groups remain ambivalent. Moreover, the ambivalence reflects the lack of a clear picture of the future role of the physician. The issue is whether he is to be a super technologist or an applied behavioural scientist. Although the analysis of past trends and future prospects is based on British data, it is regarded as holding true for other highly industrialised countries.
Accession Number	CPA-930813139 A
Classmark	V6: S *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.