The role of a tutorial system in undergraduate medical education.

A tutorial system for first- and second-year medical students is now in its third year of operation at McGill University. The program was designed to meet the specific needs of McGill students. The aims and objectives were intentionally defined in a general way, application of detail being the responsibility of individual tutors and their groups of students. The main purpose of the program is the repeated exposure of students to the individual competence of outstanding teachers. A large majority of students and tutors favour the program. It has provided faculty members with insight into some of the problems of present-day medical education. The consensus is that, in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, the tutorial system serves an important role, complementing the normal curriculum.