Management education for undergraduate doctors. A survey of medical schools.

Explores the extent to, and ways in which, doctors are prepared for their future role in management through the undergraduate medical curriculum. Surveys the colleges across the UK offering undergraduate medical education using both prospectuses and questionnaires to establish both inclusion of healthcare management/policy in curricula and the subject content offered. Establishes that the majority of colleges offer some teaching of health care management/policy although the areas of study included vary considerably. The emphasis in most institutions appears to be on introducing the structure and organization of the NHS together with decision making in respect of resource allocation often located within a public health programme. This leads to the tentative conclusion that the management education needs of future public health physicians are reasonably well served while those of hospital doctors and general practitioners need further investigation.