Humanistic and social education for physicians: the experience of the Colombian School of Medicine

Abstract

Medical education at the Colombian School of Medicine has undergone a reconceptualization and reorganization so as to encompasses three fundamental elements of medical practice: 1) development of general abilities and standards necessarky for appropriate professional medical practice; 2) technical education which makes it possible to utilize the bases that science and technology have provided for the development and application of knowledge, and in turn, to expand this base through research and development; and 3) humanistic education to guide students into ethical professional practice.