title: A balanced curriculum?
abstract: Particular emphasis in the United States has been placed on deficiencies in science education. These deficiencies have been widely publicized and the importance must be emphasized; however this is not an isolated problem. Similar deficiencies exist in the area of humanities and social sciences and this study among medical students demonstrates the need for an improved and balanced curriculum. When compared to the top quartile (25%) of the high school group used as a standard, 11.2% of the medical students tested scored below the mark on the humanities subtest and 9.8% on social sciences. Some scores were abysmally low: one with 25 of 115 questions on Form A and another with 19 of 115 questions on Form B.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical College Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA.
authors.forename: B V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Osberg
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Kendig
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004493:Education; D006809:Humanities / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012586:Science / Q000193:education; D012942:Social Sciences / Q000193:education; D013334:Students; D013337:Students, Medical; D014481:United States