Instructing medical students on alcoholism: what to teach with limited time.

Alcoholism in a major health problem which demands a place in the curriculum of medical schools. Yet many schools find there is more to teach than there is time available, especially since students now elect a significant portion of their educational experiences. The author reviews the literature on physicians' attitudes toward alcoholism, the possible reasons for these feelings, and attempts by others to change them through teaching. He concludes that when confronted with limited time in the medical school curriculum to teach on alcoholism, it may be best to emphasize discussion of the various issues related to physicians' attitudes. The author describes a six-hour course devoted to alcoholism in which this is done in a nonthreatening, small-group setting, with apparently positive results.