Challenges of basical sciences in medical education

The relevance of basic sciences in medical education has been recognized for centuries, and the importance of exposing medical students to science was acknowledged and reinforced by the recommendations of Flexner in 1910. Since then, traditional medical education has been divided into preclinical and clinical subjects; within this scheme, the first terms of undergraduate medical education usually concentrate on basic sciences, while subsequent ones focus on clinical sciences and clinical training. Since 1956, this educational scheme has been questioned and, in some schools, the medical curriculum has undergone significant structural changes; some of these reforms, especially integrated curricula, are associated with important reductions in the time allotted to individual basic science courses or even with their removal. The removal of basic science subjects from the medical curriculum is paradoxical because nowadays the value of biomedical knowledge and the scientific reasoning to make medical decisions is more appreciated than ever. To maintain its relevance in medical education, basic sciences have to confront three challenges: a) increasing its presence in clinical education; b) developing nuclear programs; and c) renewing laboratory instruction.