A story of change

In this introduction to Issues and Strategies for Reform in Medical Education: Lessons from Eight Medical Schools, the authors describe the overall objective of the supplement, which is to present the qualitative reflections of 12 faculty members at eight medical schools who worked to reform their schools' curricula as part of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "Preparing Physicians for the Future: A Program in Medical Education." They outline the issues addressed in the reform efforts at all of the eight schools, including health promotion/disease prevention and ambulatory care, the editors' choice of a "vignette-based" format for the chapters, and the content of the three appendices that end the supplement. They conclude with a brief description of the lessons learned by all participants in the collaborative effort of producing this supplement on curriculum change.