The author considers the University of Toronto's Health, illness and the Community course for undergraduate medical students, described in this issue by Wasylenki and associates (see pages 379 to 383). Social accountability in medical education demands a community orientation and hence an emphasis on outreach. Medical schools should expand their clinical service to the community, provide commun...

BACKGROUND Mobile device technology has revolutionized interpersonal communication, but the application of this technology to the physician-patient relationship remains limited due to concerns over patient confidentiality and the security of digital information. Nevertheless, there is a continued focus on improving communication between doctors and patients in all fields of medicine as a means ...

CONTEXT An association with excellence should be reserved for educational institutions which verify that their actions make a difference to people's well-being. The graduates they produce should not only possess all of the competencies desirable to improve the health of citizens and society, but should also use them in their professional practice. Four principles enunciated by the World Health ...

INTRODUCTION Considering the pervasiveness of social accountable medical education concept around the world and the growing trend of literature in this regard as well as various interpretations made about this concept, we found it necessary to analyze the concept of social accountable medical education. METHODS In this study, the modified version of McKenna's approach to concept analysis was ...

In this century, medical schools will be gauged by their capacity to anticipate the kind of doctors required by evolving health systems. They will need to consider the challenges these health systems face as they grapple with critical health concerns in society. In this context, two things immediately become apparent: one, the roots of ill health lie in poverty, discrimination, lack of educatio...