The case for basic sciences in the undergraduate curriculum

BACKGROUND: The importance of basic sciences in the training of doctors has been recognised for centuries, and their position was acknowledged and strengthened by the recommendations of the General Medical Council and the Flexner report. CONTEXT: Challenges to their central role have, however, arisen from many directions: these include perceived lack of relevance to clinical medicine, and pressures on the curriculum from social sciences and the humanities. Nevertheless, the justifications for studying basic sciences remain strong, and include contextualisation, understanding of pathophysiology, training in the process of learning, an ability to explain diseases to patients, intellectual satisfaction, appreciation of uncertainties in science and therefore in patients, and research leading to advances in medical care. IMPLICATIONS: Innovative approaches to medical education may improve the teaching and learning of basic sciences, and build on their inherent importance.