A Course of study in the anatomical sciences for a problem‐based curriculum

Abstract Different models of medical education in the basic sciences have arisen in the last decade, some in response to issues raised in the 1984 GPEP Report. Each model attempts to redress problems of identifying core content in any particular discipline, within which the knowledge base is continually expanding, and of providing optimal educational experience outside of the traditional lecture/laboratory format. These objectives must also be achieved within a collapsing allocation of time for instruction as it has been commonly understood. In this paper, we discuss instructional method, developed to meet these demands, which are currently used in the Anatomical Sciences Program of the Alternative Curriculum, Rush Medical College's problem‐based curriculum. Although circumstances determining curricular constraints vary among medical colleges, we offer our positive experience with this particular format as a potential guide to curricular reform in the anatomical sciences. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.