PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to evaluate cognitive changes in medical students before and after introduction of a 'Patient-Doctor-Society' course into the curriculum of a medical school. METHODS: Self-questionnaires that evalutated medical student congnition in the areas of medical humanities and sociology were answered by graduates-to-be who had experienced a new or previously implemented curriculum. The questionnaires included 28 questions using seven Likert scales. Student t-test was used to compare the scores between students who were educated using the new or old curriculum. RESULTS: In 405 medical students, 349 (86%) answered the questionnaires. For nine (32%) questions, students who partook of the new curriculum had higher scores than those in the older curriculum, and in 19 (68%) questions, there was no statistically significant difference. The questions that revealed differences between the groups were related to professionalism, care, personal and social communication, and ethics. CONCLUSION: Introduction of the 'Patient-Doctor-Society' course into the curriculum of a medical school was associated with cognitives change in medical students with regard to medical humanities and sociology.
