Physicians for the 21st century: implications for medical practice, undergraduate preparation, and medical education.

Changes in medical education and the practice of medicine have resulted from the push for both education and health care reforms. Undergraduates planning application to medical school should broaden their preparation to include communications, computers, economics, and multicultural educational experiences. To prepare graduates for medical practice in the new millennium, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine has implemented a new curriculum focusing on integration of basic and clinical sciences, primary care in ambulatory sites, health promotion and disease prevention, and attention to the ethical, social, psychologic, and financial impact of disease upon the patient, family, and society.