Health, Society and the Physician (HSP)
Dartmouth Medical School Year 4
Directors: Mike Zubkoff and Ginny Reed, MSN, PhD
Administrative Assistant: Sandi Cragin
Description and Goals:
The overarching aim of HSP is to provoke study, reflection, and honest conversation about difficult or new issues that graduating medical students will face in the next stage of their careers.
Objectives:
Course topics are continually updated and adjusted to reflect changes in earlier curricula (years 1-3) and to provide a format for current methods and topics that have not been addressed elsewhere. Although topics continue to change, the objectives remain the same:
- Identify, understand and articulate the key human and social issues that are relevant to medical decisions
- Analyze and use the contributions of disciplines outside biomedical science in formulating coherent plans of patient care
- Obtain new information from original sources and solve problems under conditions of uncertainty
- Use cooperative group process to attain better solutions and mutually agreed upon goals
Format:
The principal learning methods emphasize the study of problems explored in small groups, which involve students in active individual learning. Each small group is led by two facilitators, a physician and another health care provider, who bring different perspectives to the discussion. The small groups are complemented by whole-class sessions, symposia, and special lectures by visiting experts. By using these resources, each student has an opportunity to improve her or his ability to:
- reflect on and assess experiences from inside and outside the course,
- contribute to the broadening and enrichment of individual and collective understandings,
- support others in the group,
- contribute to an environment and a context that stimulates and encourages questions.