Consumer views on the medical curriculum: a retrospective study of Aberdeen graduates

In a postal follow-up study of five annual cohorts of Aberdeen medical graduates, 371 respondents (out of 423 approached) gave their views on their undergraduate curriculum. Three out of four thought the curriculum had satisfactorily prepared them for their choice of career. But when asked about four areas of medical care these postgraduates thought that patient management outside hospital, social services relevant to medicine, and individual patient problems had been inadequately represented. Of the twenty-five curricular subjects on which respondents were asked to comment, anatomy and biochemistry were most often rated as excessively taught, while general practice was most often stated to be under-represented. This study raises the question of more active participation by experienced consumers of medical education in shaping the content of the undergraduate curriculum.