Teaching social sciences in the clinical years through psychosocial conferences.

A program for teaching the social sciences in the clinical years in medical school is described. This program focuses on psychosocial conferences (PSC) held during the clerkships in internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery. The aim of the PSC is the integration of the knowledge and skills imparted in the preclinical social sciences curriculum with the students' clinical experiences. PSC teaching includes tutorial guidance throughout the student's preparation of a case presentation in which psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects of the patients' coping with illness and the patient-physician interrelationship are emphasized.