A problem-oriented independent studies programme in basic medical sciences.

An independent studies programme (ISP) in the basic medical sciences has been developed at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry which involves sixteen students as a learning team working with ten medical teachers as a teaching team. The teachers serve as guides to learning rather than as sources of expert information and function as generalists in their educational roles. The programme, which is preferred by some students, has provided an alternative to the lecture-laboratory-conference format of the traditional curriculum. Some of the advantages of such an ISP are discussed and its effectiveness assessed.