Cuckoo in the nest: some comments on the role of sociology in the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Despite the enormous strides that it has made over the past decade the position of sociology within the medical school remains precarious. Its problems are compounded by a failure to develop a coherent defence of its contribution to the education of doctors. In this paper three approaches to the teaching of sociology are identified: the human relations approach; the basic science approach; and the applied science approach. The limitations of each are discussed. It is argued that they offer a distorted version of sociology and represent competing approaches to medical education. It is further argued that sociology must curb its imperialistic tendencies, re-establish the connection between research and teaching, and through its approach both to teaching and the practice of medicine seek to provide a liberating influence in the undergraduate curriculum.