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The
study of human genetics is one of the most productive fields of current
scientific research. The findings of the Human Genome Project will play
an ever significant role in the diagnosis, treatment and management
of disease. Primary care physicians, no less than specialists, must
understand gene/environment interactions in order to address everyday
health problems. In consequence, all medical schools will have to expand
coverage of human genetics in the curriculum.
The power of the genetic paradigm carries risks as well as benefits,
and genetics must be taught with full realization of the social as well
as medical outcomes. Societal and ethical concerns must be addressed.
This presents an opportunity for schools to experiment in transforming
medical education. How to hasten the needed change and entice schools
to become the "pioneers" is the challenge to educators.
Dr. Leon Eisenberg, Maude and Lillian Presley Professor Emeritus, Department
of Social Medicine, has been actively engaged in the discussion of the
impact of genetic advances on medicine and the consequent need for curriculum
redesign. In 1998 Dr. Eisenberg chaired a conference organized by the
Macy Foundation entitled "The Implications of the New Genetics
for Health Professional Education." In June 2001, Dr. Eisenberg
organized and chaired a meeting on Teaching Genetics to Medical Students
which was held at Harvard Medical School. Faculty members from thirty
North American medical schools were convened to consider current problems
and possible solutions. Participants agreed that the goal of curriculum
redesign is to enable students to become intelligent consumers of genetic
information, skilled at translating that information for their patients.
In June 2003, Dr. Eisenberg organized a second Harvard Conference, this
time focusing on "Teaching the Genetics of Complex Diseases in
Clinical Clerkships." The participants, recruited from 30 medical
schools, included geneticists and leaders of clinical clerkships in
pediatrics, medicine and neurology. The specialist groups outlined the
principal goals of the appropriate methods for teaching the genetics
of common diseases in the clinical years.
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Papers
Presented at Genetics Conference
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