3A.05 MedCur. Knowledge
Until the early 1970s, the Flexner report was what shaped undergraduate medical education [61]. Basic and clinical sciences were separated. Basic sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, histology, and biochemistry were dealt with in the initial years, while clinical sciences, such as pathology, pharmacology, and surgery were covered in later years. The distinctive medical specialties and their related knowledge and skills, such as history-taking and physical examinations, were addressed just before students began their internships. Lectures were the dominant teaching method, and examinations focused on knowledge reproduction. Sometimes the curriculum contained lectures about psychology with patient-physician communication as one of the topics.
However, the teaching of communication skills was not embedded in the curricula [62], and most medical students graduated without ever interviewing a patient under direct supervision [63].