title: The independent psychiatry project: a model exercise in student learning.
abstract: The author describes a component of a freshman psychiatry course in which students are permitted in lieu of final examinations to pursue independent study in any aspect of the human life cycle. Examination of student topics over a three-year period revealed that many chose areas of study relating to significant past personal experiences. These students were able to gain considerable cognitive mastery over highly charged and/or traumatic life events. A second distinct student group directed its inquiries to the developmental aspects of physicianhood. The independent psychiatry project appears to be a vehicle for promoting active, autonomous, and reflective learning in the preclinical curriculum.
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D007858:Learning; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*